AUSTRALIA PEOPLE SMUGGLERS OPERATING IN INDONESIA ARE STRUGGLING TO FIND CUSTOMERS AFTER GOVT POLICY OF SENDING THEM TO PAPUA NEW GUINEA AND NAURU AND NOW THEY ARE SHARING LIMITED CUSTOMERS AS $ 6000 RATE TWELVE MONTHS EARLIER NOW DOWN TO HALF 30TH OCTOBER 2013 KEY people-smugglers operating in Indonesia are believed to have forged a new super syndicate in a bid to overcome a massive downturn in demand from asylum-seekers for boats to Australia. The collapse in the trade, following the introduction of Australias policy of sending asylum-seekers to Papua New Guinea and Nauru, has prompted some of those involved to consider abandoning the business altogether and seek resettlement. One people-smuggler, known by the alias Haji Aref, is set to have an interview with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jakarta on Friday - the first step in the resettlement process. A source close to the new “super syndicate” says members of the group, who until recently were in competition with each other, are now working together because alone, they have been unable to secure enough passengers to make a reasonable profit. “A lot of smugglers are now getting together. There are five or six smugglers planning to send one boat because they dont have enough passengers,” the source said. “One smuggler has 20 people, another has five, others have more, but its not the amount they want because they want 80 to 100 passengers.” The new grouping, which operates out of the asylum-seeker enclave of Cisarua in the foothills south of Jakarta, includes two smugglers from Afghanistan (Haji Aref and Jasem), two from Iran (Hesam and and Salar), and a Sri Lankan known as Nadin. Aref, while involved in the new syndicate, is believed to have decided that the future of the business is unsustainable. Just 12 months ago, asylum-seekers were paying more than $6000 for passage, but some now are being asked to pay less than half that amount. The Abbott government says arrivals are running at about 10 per cent of the traffic at its highest level under Labor. “
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 08:52:53 +0000
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