(LAWFUEL) – Three Indonesian men will face Perth Magistrates Court charged with people smuggling after the alleged attempt to facilitate the arrival of 17 people to Australia rom Indonesia on 17 January 2009.
A 20-year-old Indonesian man appeared today and a 24-year-old man and a 22- year-old man will appear in court tomorrow charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) with the alleged attempt to facilitate a people smuggling venture.
The SIEV 31 vessel was intercepted by the Royal Australian Navy patrol boat HMAS Maryborough, operating under the control of Customs and Border Protection Command, within close proximity to Ashmore Island, Western Australia.
The three Indonesian men bring the total number of people charged by the AFP with people smuggling since September 2008 to 11. Two men were arrested and charged on Friday 6 February and one on Saturday 7 February by the AFP with one count of facilitating the bringing of non-citizens into Australia (of five or more people), contrary to Section 232A of the Migration Act 1958.
The maximum penalty for this offence is 20 years imprisonment.
