Smuggling Iraqis to Australia

Australian immigration officials said on Monday that a network for smuggling Iraqis to Australia for $10,000 US per person was discovered.

Australian Immigration Minister Phillip Ruddock said the network was working on supplying the Iraqi citizens with forged documents. He noted that most of the people who tried to enter Australia were family members or friends of the "heads" of the network.

The Australian minister added that during the period from January 1997 to June 1998, some 183 Iraqis were prevented from entering Australia at the ports because they were carrying forged documents.

He explained that the Australian federal police worked with the Immigration authorities for more six months until the smuggling network was discovered. He added that the success of the operation will greatly affect following up on illegal immigrants from the Middle East.