Asia-Pacific News
Undocumented migrants arrested heading to Australia from Sri Lanka
Apr 12, 2010, 15:04 GMT
Colombo – Forty-five undocumented migrants trying to travel to Australia on a boat have been arrested off Sri Lanka, police said Monday.
The vessel had left from the fishing village of Passikudha in the Batticaloa district, 240 kilometres east of the capital, but was detected on Monday, police said.
'They were all Sri Lankans and had stored food and water required for about 25 days. They said they had been promised a safe passage to Australia,' a police officer in charge of the investigation said.
There has been a steady increase in the number of Sri Lankans trying to enter Australia illegally.
The arrest came less than a day after the Australian government suspended the processing of new asylum applications from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
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