McInerny, Tony --- "People smuggling - an inhuman trade" [2000] AUFPPlatypus 17; (2000) 68 Platypus: Journal of the Australian Federal Police, Article 1

• Factors underpinning illegal immigration
• Implications for Australia
• Illegal immigration – the Australian experience
• AFP role
• People Smuggling Strike Team (PST)
• People smuggling syndicates
• Links to other criminal activity
• Future developments

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People smuggling - an inhuman trade

By Tony McInerny, AFP People Smuggling Team

Australia is increasingly a target for illegal immigrants, with unauthorised arrivals by boat and air having increased from 1712 in 1997–98, to 3009 in 1998–99 to 5869 in 1999–2000.

Australia is not alone in facing a significant increase in illegal immigration. It has been estimated that worldwide, about 100 million people are seeking to migrate to another country. The International Organisation for Migration estimated in 1996 that around 4 million people attempt to migrate illegally each year, as part of an industry worth an estimated $11 billion per year.

United States Immigration and Naturalization Service data indicate that the number of smuggled aliens apprehended attempting to enter the US increased almost 80 per cent over two years, from about 138,000 in 1997 to about 247,000 in 1999 (US fiscal year).

UNAUTHORISED ARRIVALS IN AUSTRALIA BY YEAR

YEAR	BOAT	AIR	TOTAL
91-92	81	529	610
92-93	198	452	650
93-94	200	409	609
94-95	1071	485	1556
95-96	589	663	1252
96-97	365	1350	1715
97-98	157	1555	1712
98-99	926	2083	3009
99-00	4175	1694	5869

The US Coast Guard intercepted more than 4800 aliens in 1999, which was an increase of 118 per cent from the 2200 aliens intercepted 1997. Many other countries have also reported increasing concerns with illegal immigration. Pino Arlacchi, an Italian sociologist and UN undersecretary-general was reported in the press recently as saying that the deaths of the 58 Chinese migrants found in a truck at Dover in June 2000 was just the tip of the iceberg and one of several recent accidents that show the magnitude and seriousness of the problem. He said reliable estimates indicate that 200 million people might be in some way under the sway or in the hands of traffickers of various kinds.

The People's Republic of China (PRC), South Asia, the Middle East and Africa are major sources of illegal immigrants, while the major destination countries are in North America (especially the US) and Europe.

Factors underpinning illegal immigration

The factors behind illegal immigration include push factors such as war; civil unrest; persecution (for religious, racial, political and other reasons); poverty; environmental catastrophes and degradation; and the lack of opportunity for legal movement. Pull factors include the existence of a safe, secure environment; improved economic opportunities; familial and cultural connections; and lifestyle considerations. The push and pull factors are augmented by facilitating factors such as the breakdown of national borders; the revolution in communications and information; the availability of transportation; and the accessibility of people smuggling services.

UNAUTHORISED BOAT ARRIVALS TO AUSTRALIA BY COUNTRY AND BY YEAR

	94-95	95-96	96-97	97-98	98-99	99-00
PRC	928	573	253	18	471	135
Turk/Kurd	0	6	0	0	146	48
Iraq	0	4	61	11	121	2297
Afghan	5	0	0	48	95	1263
Bangladesh	0	0	0	33	39	19
Sri Lanka	0	6	15	0	21	31
Iran	0	0	1	0	1	227
Others	138	0	35	47	32	155
Total	1071	589	365	157	926	4175

Implications for Australia

The implications for Australia of illegal immigration include:

• Economic costs:

Australian National Audit Office figures suggest that every illegal immigrant stopped from entering Australia represents a cost saving of up to $50,000 per person. At the current level of around 6000 air and sea-borne illegal immigrants, this represents an annual cost of up to $300 million. This figure does not include Coastwatch, Australian Customs Service (ACS) or the Department of Defence costs associated with the detection, interception or transportation of unlawful non-citizens to the Australian mainland or the costs involved in investigating and prosecuting people smugglers.

• Quarantine risk:

The potential importation of exotic diseases through unauthorised boat landings, for example, potentially could have devastating consequences for Australia's agricultural industry.

• National and criminal security consequences:

Clearly, there is potential for members of terrorist groups to enter Australia illegally and there have been recent reports of persons involved in war crimes and other criminal activity doing the same.

• Political and social destabilisation.

UNAUTHORISED AIR ARRIVALS TO AUSTRALIA BY COUNTRY AND BY YEAR

Country	94-95	95-96	96-97	97-98	98-99	99-00
Iraq	17	34	90	140	340	157
Afhanistan	0	4	0	12	54	49
Malaysia	37	9	20	42	257	188
PRC	11	92	235	268	183	73
Sth Korea	10	6	12	52	154	108
NZ	62	49	40	59	97	107
Algeria	2	21	61	51	93	14
Thailand	16	25	94	77	91	74
Indonesia	66	110	124	132	85	54
Philippines	6	5	12	36	74	85
Iran	4	4	71	46	64	34
Others	254	304	655	640	591	751
Total	485	663	1350	1555	2083	1694

Illegal immigration – the Australian experience

The main nationalities involved in unauthorised boat arrivals in Australia in recent times are Iraqis and Afghanis. Arrivals of people from the PRC have been significant in the past, but reduced substantially following a spate of attempted covert entries by boat in the first half of 1999. The nationalities involved in unauthorised arrivals by air are much wider than those coming by sea, although Iraqis are again a significant component.

In recent years, unauthorised arrivals by air have far exceeded unauthorised arrivals by boat, but at the end 1999-00 financial year, there had been more than twice as many arrivals by boat than by air. While there has been a slight reduction in air arrivals this financial year, boat arrivals have burgeoned, with 75 boats having transported illegal immigrants to Australia up until the end of June. Most of these boats have embarked their passengers in Indonesia.

It is important to understand that there are two distinct types of unauthorised boat arrivals: overt and covert. ‘Overt' describes those people-smuggling ventures where the passengers are happy to declare themselves upon arrival in Australia in order to seek refugee status. All of the boats originating in Indonesia that have been detected fall into the overt category. The crews, or a portion of the crews, who are generally Indonesian nationals, have generally remained with the passengers. ‘Covert' describes those smuggling ventures where the clients know that they have to land and establish themselves in the community in Australia without being detected because they do not have a high chance of successfully claiming refugee status. This applies mainly to illegal arrivals from the PRC.

While illegal immigrants generally are not hardened criminals and of interest to law enforcement authorities in themselves, it is assessed that many, if not most of them, rely on loosely structured networks of organised people smugglers.

AFP role

While the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (DIMA) and the ACS have the lead roles in dealing with illegal immigration, the AFP has responsibility for the investigation of organised crime involvement in people smuggling and the investigation and charging of the crews of people smuggling vessels.

Until fairly recently, AFP investigations of people smuggling were uncommon. One of the factors relevant to AFP involvement was the penalty provisions in the Migration Act 1958. Until new offence provisions came into operation on July 22, 1999, the maximum penalty for people smuggling was two years imprisonment. With the amendments to the Act in 1999, a new offence of knowingly organising the illegal entry of groups of five or more people was introduced with a 20 year jail penalty and/or a fine of up to $220,000. The penalty for individual instances of people smuggling increased to 10 years jail with a fine of up to $110,000. Following the undetected landing near Nambucca Heads on April 10, 1999, of a vessel carrying illegal immigrants from the PRC, the Prime Minister established a task force on Coastal Surveillance which recommended a package of measures to improve Australia's capacity to deter and detect illegal immigration. The Government indicated the seriousness with which it viewed the issue of illegal immigration and the need for a coordinated approach by Australian agencies.

While the AFP has always responded to particular incidents involving the detection of illegal immigrants, especially unauthorised boat arrivals, and has applied the necessary resources to deal with these, it responded to the upsurge in illegal arrivals by creating, in August 1999, positions for a dedicated people smuggling investigations team based in Darwin and by increasing the focus on people smuggling by its intelligence and overseas liaison elements. In November 1999, a further position of coordinator of head office investigations – organised people smuggling was created. As positions were filled, momentum continued to build. The AFP contributed to further Government consideration of the issue of people smuggling, and in the 2000–01 Budget the AFP received $3. 9 million ($16. 1 million over 4 years) to investigate and detect organised people smuggling, including the establishment of a joint strike team with the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.

People Smuggling Strike Team (PST)

The concept for the strike team was derived from the successful Avian Strike Team (drugs) methodology, involving integrated intelligence and investigation elements with sufficient equipment and funding (especially for travel) to provide for the sustained investigation of major targets with a view to disrupting criminal activities, dismantling criminal groups and prosecuting the major players. In the case of the PST, it is planned that the team, including DIMA members, will work from one office located in AFP head office in Canberra and report to a board of management comprising one senior representative each from AFP and DIMA. As part of its responsibilities the board will determine targets for the PST. The team will comprise a coordinator, an intelligence cell (2 x AFP and 1 x DIMA), ten investigators (6 x AFP and 4 x DIMA) and an investigative assistant. It will be intelligence driven and will have the capacity to travel wherever required to gather intelligence and conduct investigations. It is anticipated that the team will work closely with other elements of the AFP (especially the AFP overseas liaison network and AFP offices around Australia), with DIMA, with other Australian agencies involved in dealing with people smuggling such as ACS (including Coastwatch), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), relevant intelligence organisations, and partner law enforcement agencies in Australia and overseas. The PST is already partially operational, having absorbed the dedicated people smuggling investigation team previously located in Darwin and taken on board a number of AFP investigators. It is working closely with DIMA staff, and DIMA investigators work with AFP members in interviewing witnesses in detention centres.

Because the organisers of people smuggling to Australia are generally located overseas, PST will continue to work closely with the AFP overseas liaison network in source and transit countries. One of the outcomes of the recent federal budget was the provision by Government of funding for an additional liaison officer position in Jakarta to work on people smuggling. An additional, temporary position has also been created in Kuala Lumpur and the focus of one position in Islamabad has been redirected to allow greater attention to be given to people smuggling issues at those posts.

Given the need to collect evidence and to take effective action in relation to criminal activity overseas, close relationships will need to be established with relevant overseas agencies. The effective cooperation already established with the Indonesian National Police provides an example of what can be achieved in this area. In order to foster an understanding of Australia's interests in relation to people smuggling and to assist overseas agencies with their investigations of this area of criminality, the Government has provided funding of $5. 425 million over 4 years to be used for people smuggling initiatives in the Law Enforcement Cooperation Program. This program aims to facilitate to flow of criminal intelligence and to create mutually beneficial operational efficiencies. The program also aims to contribute to improving the law enforcement infrastructure and the quality of police practice of countries within the Asia-Pacific region and which share common interests through the provision of a range of training courses, officer exchanges and the provision of certain relevant equipment and project support.

People smuggling syndicates

As noted above, the majority of illegal immigrants entering Australia at the moment are coming by boat from Indonesia. Generally, the boats are crewed by Indonesian nationals and, depending upon their point of departure, aim to land at either Christmas Island or Ashmore Reef. A small number of boats have landed on the Australian mainland.

Over the past 12–18 months, the nature of people smuggling activities through Indonesia to Australia has changed greatly; these activities have moved from being relatively overt and amateurish, relying to a significant extent on family connections, to being increasingly covert, highly lucrative, professional criminal enterprises involving high levels of official corruption. This change can be attributed to a range of factors, the main ones being:

• the increase in penalties for Migration Act offences, referred to above – crews of Indonesian vessels bringing illegal immigrants to Australia are now receiving prison sentences of around four years with a non-parole period of two years, compared to the sentences of three to six months handed down last year;

• increasing knowledge in source countries of the availability of the route to Australia;

• the attraction of the huge profits to be made from people smuggling – organisers are charging between USD600 –2500 (with most paying USD1500 –2500) per person for the boat trip from Indonesia to Australia and considerably more for the total passage from the Middle East or Pakistan; and

• the increasing pressure being brought to bear on people smugglers in Indonesia by Australian and Indonesian authorities.

Indonesia-based smugglers have responded to the increased penalties handed down to crews by: using escort vessels to remove as many crew members as possible before the transporting vessel enters Australian waters; using young male crew members who claim to be less than 18 years of age in the hope of being dealt with as juveniles; attempting to ‘dump and depart' where circumstances permit (that is, disembarking the illegal immigrants and returning to Indonesia). Other responses by Indonesia-based smugglers to law enforcement pressure include bringing their clients into Indonesia using new routes and methods and departing from different areas of the Indonesian archipelago.

There has been only one instance of an entry to Australia involving PRC nationals since the interception of a vessel off Broken Bay, NSW, with 108 PRC passengers and four crew in June 1999. This instance involved the entry of 23 illegal immigrants in Cairns on July 11, 2000. However, the push and pull factors are so strong that further attempts to smuggle immigrants from the PRC by boat must be expected, although there are likely to be variations in the way in which these ventures are organised. While the use of containers to smuggle people to Australia has not been detected to date, this is a methodology which must be kept in mind.

Attempted covert boat entry to Australia by other nationalities cannot be discounted.

Links to other criminal activity

While there has been much speculation, there is no hard evidence that people smugglers are bringing narcotics and people to Australia concurrently. However, a number of persons associated with the attempted smuggling of immigrants to Australia have come to attention in relation to drug trafficking.

Future developments

Large-scale people smuggling is not a passing phenomenon – it will be an increasing problem for all developed countries, including Australia, because there will continue to be large pools of people who wish to leave their country of residence, who consider Australia an attractive destination, and who will be willing and able to use the services of people smugglers.

Given the huge amounts of money to be made and the increasing suppression activity by law enforcement, people smuggling to Australia will become more ‘criminalised', that is, it will continue to attract persons already engaged in other criminal activities such as drug trafficking, and it is likely to attract people prepared to use violence in order to defend and expand their operations. In the longer term, the use of violence against the people smuggled can be expected (in order to maintain control of groups and to collect debts). Experience overseas is that one of the major tools of people smugglers is bribery; it can be expected that corruption increasingly will be associated with people smuggling ventures.

People smugglers have shown themselves to be extremely adaptable – changing their vessels, departure points, routes, arrival points, and other operating procedures in response to law enforcement actions. If effective action is maintained against smugglers in Indonesia, it can be expected that they will seek to establish operations elsewhere.

Smuggling by air using false or forged documentation will continue and may well increase in response to the pressure on the smuggling by boat, and it can be expected that other methodologies will also be employed.