Monday, 16th June 2014
Crime Reporter
Sydney
LAW enforcement agencies should “leverage” the success of Australia’s military-led operation to stop people-smuggling in order to combat other kinds of organised crime, federal Justice Minister Michael Keenan will say today.
Speaking in Sydney to delegates from countries including India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, Mr Keenan will argue the international co-operation achieved during Operation Sovereign Borders should now be employed to tackle drug and gun-trafficking gangs.
“A year ago it would have been unthinkable that the (people-smuggling) boats could stop — it has now been almost six months without a successful boat arrival,” the minister will tell the regional law enforcement joint management conference. “It is now time to leverage this success with our regional partnerships to disrupt the criminal organisations and break their operating models.
“Our ongoing success will be shown by the abandonment of people-smuggling as an industry … It will also be shown by a failure of the organised criminals to migrate to other transnational criminal activities.’’
Those attending the conference, chaired by the Australian Federal Police, will be encouraged to study the example of Operation Sovereign Borders, which was established in September last year to prevent people-smuggling by boat.
While controversial, the joint-agency task force led by army Lieutenant General Angus Campbell has effectively halted the trade, which at one point saw hundreds of people arriving in Australia every month.
Mr Keenan will argue that much of its success is due to increased co-operation between regional law enforcement agencies and that the illegal trade in people should not be seen in isolation from other transnational criminal activity. In the last financial year almost 70 people were arrested or detained in Indonesia for involvement in transnational crime, including people smuggling, as a direct result of co-operation between the AFP and Indonesian National Police, he will say.
Within the past 12 months, Australian courts have convicted three people for their involvement in people-smuggling, while about 17 other people are currently before the courts after being charged with related offences.
“As we have moved up the organised crime chains from ‘on water’ disruption to dismantling the enterprises themselves, the need for regional co-operation, information sharing and co-ordinated activities have become paramount,” the minister will say.
“We know from the experience of the past six years that people remain ready to take advantage of any … lack of resolve and focus to protect our borders.”
