Three Criminals Removed under MOU with Vietnam
Media Release - DPS 34/2003
Three criminals have been deported from Australia to Vietnam under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Vietnamese Government, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) confirmed tonight.
The men were escorted on commercial flights to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by Australasian Correctional Management officers, in two removal operations taking place on 19 May and 20 May 2003.
The men had been held in immigration detention prior to their removal, one at the Perth Immigration Detention Centre in Western Australia, one at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in New South Wales and one at the Metropolitan Remand and Correctional Centre in New South Wales.
All men were convicted for criminal offences (one for armed robbery, one for drug-related offences and one for homicide) and served sentences ranging from 14 months to 12 years.
'The successful return of criminal deportees under the MOU can be attributed to the high level of cooperation extended by both governments to the return arrangements,' a DIMIA spokesperson said.
There are a further 19 people awaiting deportation to Vietnam under the MOU.
This brings to 33 the number of Vietnamese nationals removed under the MOU with the Vietnamese Government, which was signed in June 2001.
Prior to the removals this week, the most recent deportations to
Vietnam under the MOU were of two men in April 2003 and four men
in March 2003.
20 May 2003
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