People Smuggler Caught off Perth's Coast Jailed
Sunday March 8, 2009
An Indonesian boat captain was given a maximum six-year prison sentence by a Perth court for trying to smuggle 12 asylum seekers into Australia.
Abdul Hamid, 35, was jailed six years with a non-parole period of three years after he was found by the Border Protection Command near the Ashmore Islands on 29 September last year.
He was charged by Judge Christopher Stevenson in a district court in Perth for illegally trying to bring in a group of more than five non-citizens into Australia.
The 12 people claimed to be from the Middle East were the first unauthorised group to be found off Australia';s coast.
Australian Federal Police reported that Hamid';s people smuggling attempt off Perth';s coast was organised in Indonesia.
