A Taiwanese national has been charged over an alleged people smuggling operation in far north Queensland.
The group is believed to have come ashore from a boat at Pennefather Beach, a popular camping spot about 50 kilometers north of Weipa, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
In a statement, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said a 34-year-old man was arrested in the Weipa supermarket car park later that day.
The 34-year-old man is charged with one count of aggravated human smuggling (involving at least five people), which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The man appeared in Cairns Magistrates Court on Wednesday and was remanded in custody. He is expected to appear in court again on Thursday.
AFP said another man, 30, was also spoken to and detained under the Migration Act pending further investigation.
It is reported that vacationers were hiding in tents
Local teacher Dan Tonon was camping on Pennefather Beach with his family when he said the boat landed about 500 meters from their tent.
Although he did not see the vessel arrive, he said other vacationers nearby saw it and were alarmed.
He said the campers hid in their tents when about 10 to 15 non-English speaking people arrived around 3 a.m. and lingered on the beach before leaving in a car.
Mr Tonon said Australian Border Force officers arrived six hours later.
“We have now been informed that they have been caught,” he said.
Mr Tonon said he was concerned that boats could land on shore undetected.
Holidaymakers saw an Australian Border Force helicopter land on Pennefather Beach. (Attached: Dan Tonon)
“People on this stretch of beach are on school holidays now and that’s why they’re here,” he said.
“If they probably hadn’t chosen the school holidays to come ashore, they probably would have gotten away with it.”
Mr Tonon said it was a scary thought for families who regularly camp along the coast.
The Australian Border Force has not confirmed any details of the incident.
“ABF does not comment on or confirm operational matters,” an ABF spokesperson said.
“National Security Problem”
CCTV footage from Weipa Bakery shows two men were arrested on Tuesday.
They were suspected of facilitating the arrival of the boat.
Weipa Bakery owner Josh Lyon was cleaning around 2pm yesterday when he noticed “a little movement” out of the corner of his eye.
CCTV footage shows two men placing an order at Weipa Bakery. (Delivery: Weipa Bakery.)
“These guys just came in, bought a hamburger and a soft drink, went and sat down,” he said.
“A couple of uniformed officers… didn’t exactly cut them off, but made it so there was no way for them to leave.”
He said the men “didn’t seem too worried” when officers approached them as they sat down to eat.
State Member for Cook David Kempton confirmed that the people from the boat have now been detained as suspected illegal arrivals.
“You can imagine this is a national security issue and official information will be pretty sparse until the federal government decides what they’re going to do with these people,” he said.
“I can’t exactly reveal my source, but I’m pretty sure.”
Mr Kempton said he was told the occupants had “scattered throughout the area before being caught”.
Cook MP David Kempton said he was told two people had been charged. (ABC Far North: Sophie Johnson)
“I don’t know whether those arrested were on the ship or off the ship,” he said.
“If they were in a more remote area, they could go undetected for quite a long period of time, and I think that’s the biggest problem.”
Mr Kempton said the ABF needed to work with other agencies such as the Australian Defense Force to ensure border security and effective use of local intelligence.
“It’s a vast border over a huge area, but it’s now known around the world to be porous,” he said.
“As geopolitical tensions continue in the region, the situation will only get worse.”
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke responded but did not acknowledge the incident near Weipa.
“We will not be lectured on border security by three right-wing parties who only yesterday voted in the Senate to release Australia’s air surveillance contract – information that smugglers would kill for,” he said.
“Operation Sovereign Borders continues to ensure that human smuggling enterprises never succeed.”
Queensland Police Minister Dan Purdy said Queensland officers were assisting federal authorities.
Foreign fishermen caught on CCTV heading to Queensland resort
“Today I heard that people have made it to shore and the police are helping the Border Patrol apprehend these people,” he said.
“But this is an absolute disgrace for the Albana government. The federal government needs to secure our borders.”
Deputy Prime Minister Jarrod Bleijie said the federal government must “reassure the state that it has what it takes to stop these boats from entering the far north illegally.”
The ABC understands the group was allegedly trying to check into the Albatross Bay Resort.
The hotel declined to comment.
On the remote coast of Far North Queensland, there are regular incidents of suspected foreign fishing vessels being intercepted for illegal fishing in Australian waters.