Twenty potential illegal immigrants (PII) have been returned to Sri Lanka from a people smuggling venture targeting Australia.
Australia remains committed to protecting its borders, stamping out people smuggling and preventing people from risking their lives at sea.
Minister for ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Affairs Peter Dutton warned anyone considering illegal migration not to be fooled by the lies and false advertising of people smugglers.
“As this return shows, there has been no change to Australia’s tough border protection policies following the recent Federal Election,” Mr Dutton said.
“Australia has no tolerance for people smuggling.”
Since the implementation of Operation Sovereign Borders in 2013, Australia has returned 847 people from 35 people smuggling ventures to their country of origin or departure.
Minister Dutton said the message for anyone thinking of taking an illegal boat journey to Australia was simple; “You have zero chance of success.”
