Twelve Detained in NSW North Coast Compliance Operation
Media Release - DPS 53/2003
Twelve people are in immigration detention following a compliance operation in the North Coast area of New South Wales, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) confirmed today.
The operation was conducted over five days from Monday 4 August - Friday 8 August.
As a result of the operation 12 unlawful non-citizens were detained, comprising five males and one female from the People's Republic of China, three Indonesian males, two Indian males and one female from Malaysia.
Of the group, four were located in Taree, four in Port Macquarie, two were located in Woolgoolga, and individuals were located in Nambucca Heads and Lismore.
The group has been transferred to Sydney's Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, where they will be held until they are removed from Australia, as required by law.
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 2002-03 financial year to 31 May the Department located 19,070 people who had either overstayed or breached their visa conditions - an increase of 10 per cent over the 2001-02 financial year when the Department located 17,307 overstayers and people breaching visa conditions around Australia.
8 August 2003
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