Thirty-One Illegals in Detention Following Compliance Operations in Suburban Sydney
Media Release - DPS 51/2003
Thirty-one people are in immigration detention following a series of compliance operations in suburban Sydney yesterday, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) confirmed today.
Acting on community information, immigration officers visited a number of restaurants and private residences, predominantly in the inner west and eastern suburbs areas, resulting in the location and detention of 23 unlawful non-citizens and eight people in breach of visa conditions. All eight had their visas cancelled.
Eighteen of the group, seven of whom were in breach of visa conditions, were found working illegally in the hospitality and manufacturing industries.
All 31 have been detained at the Villawood Immigration Detention Centre where they will remain until their departure from Australia as required by law.
The 23 unlawfuls comprised nine Malaysian nationals (six males, three females), six Chinese nationals (five men, one women), three males from India, two men from Korea, two men from the Philippines and one male Nepalese national.
The eight found in breach of visa conditions included four male Malaysians, two Thai females, one Bangladeshi male and one woman from Hungary.
Illegal worker warning notices will be issued to the employers found to have engaged illegal workers.
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 the 2001-02 financial year, the Department located 17,307 overstayers and people breaching visa conditions around Australia. This figure is expected to increase as in the 2002-03 financial year to 31 May the Department located 19,070 people who had either overstayed or breached their visa conditions.
31 July 2003
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