Immigration and Police Detain Seven in Tamworth
Media Release - DPS 64/2003
Seven people are in immigration detention following a joint operation with Immigration and the New South wales Police in Tamworth yesterday, the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) confirmed today.
As a result of the joint operation, seven unlawful non-citizens were detained, comprising six males from the People's Republic of China and one male from Malaysia.
Of the group, the Malaysian male and one of the Chinese males were located at a restaurant and the remaining five Chinese males were located at a factory. Overall, the Immigration and Police officers visited four residences and two businesses.
The group has been transferred to Sydney's Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, where arrangements are being made for their removal 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 the Department located 21,465 people who had overstayed their visas or breached their visa conditions - an increase of more than 20 percent over the 2001-02 financial year when the department located 17,307 overstayers and people breaching visas conditions around Australia.
19 September 2003