Thirteen Detained Following Roadblock
Media Release - DPS 15/2003
Thirteen people are in immigration detention following the setting up of a roadblock at the outer Melbourne suburb of Chirnside Park this morning, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) said today.
The roadblock stopped a total of 22 vehicles, comprising 18 buses/vans and 4 cars and involved checking the Immigration status of 144 people.
Chirnside Park, east of Melbourne, is a gateway to farms and fruit picking areas and it was decided to set up the roadblock as recent Immigration investigations suggested that a number of people may have been working illegally in the area.
Of the thirteen people located, two men and seven women are in Australia illegally and four men were working in breach of their visa conditions. All thirteen are Vietnamese nationals and they will be held at the Maribyrnong Immigration Detention Centre until arrangements can be made for their removal from Australia.
The thirteen people were found following a joint operation between Immigration and Victorian Police with assistance from Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office.
The thirteen people found today brings to 31 the number of people who have been located in Victoria in the past seven days who are in Australia illegally or working in breach of their visa conditions.
From 1 July 2002 to 31 January 2003, the Department has found 326 people working illegally in Victoria.
DIMIA officers make regular visits to workplaces in many parts of Australia, such as restaurants, farms, shops, offices, factories and brothels, in an effort to detect and locate people who are in the country illegally or who are working illegally. DIMIA may also issue warning notices to employers or labour suppliers who are found to have employed illegal workers.
In the 2001-02 financial year, the Department located 17,307 overstayers and people breaching visa conditions nationally. The number of locations has increased significantly since 2000-01, when 14,238 overstayers and people breaching visa conditions were detained.
26 February 2003
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