Asylum seekers on the run in the Daintree
HOME Affairs minister and recent prime ministerial hopeful Peter Dutton has reportedly confirmed the boat that ran aground in far north Queensland is “the first people-smuggling venture” in more than 1400 days.
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HOME Affairs minister Peter Dutton has reportedly confirmed the boat that ran aground in far north Queensland is “the first people-smuggling venture” in more than 1400 days.
Search crews have told The Courier-Mail that 15 suspected illegal arrivals have been detained, but the skipper and first mate remain on the run in the Daintree.
“I want to confirm for you today that Australia, we believe, has received the first vessel — the first people-smuggling venture — in over 1400 days,” Mr Dutton said, according to The Australian.
“The vessel arrived off the Daintree in Far North Queensland and obviously those matters are under investigation and there’s an operation underway in relation to this matter.”
Border Force agents, Queensland Police officers and a dog squad are scouring dense rainforest near a sunken foreign fishing trawler at Cape Kimberley, north of Port Douglas.
It is understood three of the 15 caught were walking to the ferry across the waterway, while two were detained by police after being brought to a local hospital by a fisherman
Police were this morning searching vehicles and caravans at the main checkpoint at the Daintree River ferry — the only crossing point on the crocodile-infested waters.
Three men were spotted running across the road near the ferry. Police captured two but one escaped into thick scrub earlier this morning. A third man was captured by 9.20am.
Border Force is refusing to confirm exactly how many more suspected illegal immigrants were on the run but sources say up to 17 were still hiding out in the world-famous Daintree rainforest.
A spokesperson from the Department of Home Affairs this morning commented on the search.
“The ABF (Australian Border Force) is currently investigating what we believe to be an illegal fishing vessel that ran aground north of Port Douglas.
“We can confirm that a number of potential unlawful non-citizens have been located.
“The ABF and Department of Home Affairs will undertake the necessary border processes to establish circumstances around the arrival.”
The statement comes after former Australian Border Force boss Roman Quaedvlieg took to Twitter today to comment on the boat’s arrival, saying Vietnamese fishing boats have been illegally fishing in fleets off the Queensland coast for years and suggested the vessel “used this activity as a staging point to make Oz landfall and avoid returning to VN”.
Most putative Vietnamese asylum seekers in recent years have claimed persecution due to 1. Being Christian in a communist country, 2. Being a persecuted ethnic minority (e.g Montagnards), 3. Marginalised fishermen arising from a dispute with Govt, or 4. A combination of any above
— Roman Quaedvlieg (@quaedvliegs) August 26, 2018
It’s not unusual for Vietnamese asylum seekers to target a remote part of the Australian Coast. It’s relatively easy to do; but most don’t get far once landed due to the hostility and are soon detained or give themselves up quickly. Their asylum claims fail in the majority.
— Roman Quaedvlieg (@quaedvliegs) August 26, 2018
Last night The Courier-Mail took exclusive images of some of the now 13 detainees being treated by paramedics and processed by police at the Mossman watch house.
Most were well dressed and in good health but one was vomiting and another complained of a shoulder injury.
Maritime Safety staff were this morning relocating blue barrels filled with diesel from the deck of the vessel, on the beach near the fishing trawler opposite Snapper Island. The trawler could be seen to have sunk deeper since yesterday.
A 400m long oil slick lines the pristine sands and the air was thick with the smell of diesel this morning.
EARLIER: A desperate search is under way for at least 20 suspected illegal immigrants on the run in dense rainforest after a foreign fishing boat ran aground north of Cairns.
In extraordinary scenes captured by The Courier-Mail, 11 people were on Sunday detained, some well-dressed, as they sat on an isolated beach near the crocodile-infested Daintree River, surrounded by Australian Border Force officials and police.
A search was being carried out for at least 20 others who escaped into the mangroves.
In what could be the first test for newly minted Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who was famously behind the “stop the boats” campaign, it is understood Queensland Police suspect the people to be illegal immigrants and one of them revealed he was a cab driver.
However, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson would only confirm Border Force was “responding to what we believe to be an illegal fishing vessel”.
The trawler remained partially submerged on Sunday night, about 150m off the beach, with a large diesel oil spill trailing towards the coast near Snapper Island, 18km north of Port Douglas.
It is understood a local fishing boat towed the vessel into deeper water after it ran aground at the mouth of the Daintree River earlier on Sunday.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority requested helicopter support to fly to the scene in the pristine waters of the inner Great Barrier Reef, known for large crocodiles and hammerhead sharks, about 11am.
The foreign boat could be seen to be heavily loaded with blue barrels used for sea cucumbers on the forward deck, and the perimeter of the trawler gantry was decked out with squid lanterns.
About nine detainees could be seen sitting on the beach, under guard of armed police and ABF officers, next to three police 4WDs.
It is understood the police dog squad was also deployed for the search.
Seven men and two women, who appeared to be in good health, were well dressed in jeans, jackets, caps and footwear, with their luggage at their feet.
Police told local fishermen at the site the group had claimed to be asylum seekers and it is understood senior officers were treating them as illegal immigrants, rather than illegal fishers.
It is understood Border Force officials were waiting for an interpreter to help determine the group’s motives.
It comes after a week of turmoil in Australian politics in which Queensland MP Peter Dutton, known for his hardline approach to asylum seekers as Home Affairs Minister, launched a coup against Malcolm Turnbull for the prime ministership.
He ultimately lost to Mr Morrison, but will retain his Home Affairs portfolio and be sworn back in tomorrow.
Border Force has a fleet of two helicopters with night vision and FLIR (infra-red) equipment, fixed wing aircraft and drones that patrol the Torres Strait and it is unclear how the foreign fishing boat slipped under the radar.
In 1999, a 35m cargo boat with 26 Chinese nationals on-board ran aground, just 10km from the Cairns CBD.
For three days, like this latest incident, it had negotiated the inner shipping route of the Great Barrier Reef without being intercepted in Australian waters.
Newsagent Bruce Sharples contacted authorities after he was asked to call a taxi for some of the boat people, some of whom were dressed in suits and carrying suitcases.
Less than a month later, a 40m tug boat with at least 58 illegal Chinese immigrants on board chugged down the east coast for 10 days before it ground itself at Scotts Head, near Nambucca Heads.
In mid-June, authorities intercepted the 33rd boat since the start of Operation Sovereign Borders in 2013.
It is understood the large but basic vessel, which was identified by Australian authorities by air and sea surveillance, was uncomfortably close to Australian territory before it was intercepted by the Navy.
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