Asian airports' lax officials 'help illegals into Australia'<\/p>\n
CANBERRA (Reuters): Corrupt or lax officials in major Asian
\nairports are allowing illegal immigrants with false travel
\ndocuments to fly to Australia, said a report by The Australian
\nInstitute of Criminology.<\/p>\n
The report said Asian \"document mills\" were providing false
\nand stolen passports, visa applications and work arrangements,
\nsuch as prostitution, for illegal immigrants to Australia.<\/p>\n
A rise in illegal air arrivals to Australia could be traced to
\na handful of Asian airports, where illicit travel documents were
\nused, said the report released on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"A small number of airports are reflected in a large
\nproportion of cases and this suggests a presence of lax
\nmonitoring or corruption at major airports in Asia, for example
\nSingapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong,\" said the report.<\/p>\n
The Australian government said on Friday it was boosting its
\ndetection efforts to block the growing influx of illegal arrivals
\nthrough airports.<\/p>\n
\"What we are doing is trying to work smarter with overseas
\nstaff, computerized systems and alert systems so our technical
\nexpertise is giving us an advantage that other countries just
\ndon't have,\" a spokesman for Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock
\ntold Reuters.<\/p>\n
Australian authorities are struggling to contain a surge in
\nthe number of people entering Australia illegally using people
\nsmuggling gangs.<\/p>\n
In the financial year to end-June 2000, 5,870 asylum seekers
\narrived by air and boat -- 20 percent coming by air -- up from
\n3,027 the year before.<\/p>\n
The Institute report said false documents were widely
\navailable in Asia as long as people had money and the right
\nconnections.<\/p>\n
\"One example was a Taiwan-based syndicate organizing Taiwanese
\npassports, both stolen and fraudulent, for Chinese nationals
\ntraveling to Australia,\" it said.<\/p>\n
The report detailed organized boarding pass swaps at airports
\nand illegitimate migration agents who provide fraudulent visa
\napplications and pre-arranged illegal employment on arrival.<\/p>\n
\"Those trafficked end up in sectors associated with organized
\ncrime, for example prostitution or doing 'under the table' labor
\nin establishments or markets controlled by criminal groups.\"<\/p>\n
The Institute report also said people smuggling by boat to
\nAustralia had become a much more sophisticated operation.<\/p>\n
It said small scale landings by wooden boats had been replaced
\nby larger, steel-hulled ships with hi-tech navigation equipment.
\n\"These boats have traveled longer distances, mainly from China
\ndirect to Australia, and in most cases there has been an on-shore
\npresence to meet the smuggled group,\" it said.<\/p>\n
Australian officials have caught 48 boats carrying some 3,700
\nillegal immigrants, mostly from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan,
\nattempting to enter the country by boat since July 1 last year.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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