Seven Illegal Workers Seized In Queensland
Media Release - DPS 38/2003
Seven people are in immigration detention following a joint operation in the Mundubbera region of Queensland, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) confirmed today.
The operation, undertaken by officers from Immigration, Centrelink and Queensland police, followed information from the community suggesting a number of people could be working illegally in the region.
Three people were detained at a roadblock to intercept the workers on their way to fruit farms. A further four people were detained at a local caravan park.
Six of the workers, two men and four women, were found to be unlawful non-citizens and one woman was working in breach of her visa conditions. The illegal workers, three Malaysians and four Fijians, will be held in immigration detention in Queensland until their removal from Australia, as required by law.
The Mundubbera area is a citrus growing region approximately 390kms north-west of Brisbane, attracting large numbers of casual workers each year during the picking season from May to July.
DIMIA officers, often with assistance from state police, make regular visits to workplaces in many parts of Australia, including 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 2001-02 financial year, the Department located 17,307 overstayers and people breaching visa conditions around Australia. The number of locations has increased significantly since 2000-01, when 14,238 overstayers and people breaching visa conditions were found.
12 June 2003
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