People Smuggler Gets 5 Years Jail

An Indonesian people smuggler bringing Afghan’s, Iranians, Palestinians and others by boat form Indonesia was sentenced to 5 years jail by the Northern Territory Supreme Court.  The matter was R v ACHMAD OLONG, SCC 20002647, 2.9.08.  This is an extract from Southwood J’s sentencing remarks:

During the evening of 1.11.1999 a 40 metre long, suspected illegal entry vessel was seen to be approaching the HMAS Dubbo which was anchored at Ashmore Reef. The name of the vessel was KM Harapan Satu. The vessel was later termed the ‘Adelong’, according to the Department of Immigration procedure for identifying suspected illegal entry vessels.

The vessel was carrying 353 unlawful non-citizens and five Indonesian crew members. The majority of the passengers on board the vessel were Iraqi nationals. The other passengers were from Kuwait, Afghanistan, Algeria, Palestine &  Iran.

The decks of the vessel were overcrowded. A number of passengers threw passports and identification documents over the side. Some passengers were holding up children and yelling out for assistance.

Upon boarding the vessel the Australian boarding team were confronted with an overpowering stench, rubbish littering the decks, stifling heat and numerous people who were ill including one woman in labour and another woman experiencing a possible miscarriage. A man was lying on the deck with an intravenous drip in his arm……

In Sept 1999, the offender negotiated the purchase price and purchased the KM Harapan Satu from an Indonesian company called ‘PT Karya Technic’. The offender paid.. [the] equivalent to AU$83,000..in cash for the vessel. The offender purchased the vessel with money that was provided to him by the passengers and other people smugglers…. The passengers paid between US$1700 and US$3500 to travel to Australia. Some family groups negotiated a group fee. Children travelled for free. The passengers who paid US$3500 per person were provided with transportation and three meals a day at a hotel.

Some of the passengers paid money to the offender directly and some of the passengers paid money to other people smugglers who in turn paid the offender. The latter passengers were told that the money would be given to the offender.

The offender assisted with accommodation arrangements. He booked one group of passengers into a hotel and he moved another group of passengers to alternative accommodation.

After arranging for and paying money to travel to Australia, the passengers were told to remain at their hotels in Jakarta and elsewhere in Indonesia until they were told that a ship was ready to take them to Australia. During this time some of the passengers saw the offender at their hotel on a number of occasions and some of the passengers spoke to him. The offender asked some of the passengers who he spoke to if they wanted to travel to Australia and if they knew the travel was by sea. The offender asked some passengers to pay money to him up front for the trip. He reassured them that he would not take their money and flee. He said that he could be trusted and that he was a good person……

On 7.7.07, the prisoner was arrested by the Royal Thai Police as he entered Thailand on a holiday with his family. He was arrested for the offence to which he has pleaded guilty.

On 16.8.07, a request for extradition of the offender was forwarded to Thailand. On 16.10.07, the Court of First Instance in Bangkokordered the extradition of the offender to Australia. The offender co-operated with the extradition process. He did not oppose or contest his extradition to Australia……

The offending is serious. The offending was prevalent at the time that this crime was committed. The maximum penalty for such crimes is a fine of $200,000 and 20 years imprisonment. The increase in the maximum penalty for this crime to its current level was primarily aimed at those people who profit from people smuggling. That is, those people who for a fee organise individuals or groups to enter Australia illegally. The offender was motivated by profit. The vessel was a relatively large and expensive vessel and there were 353 unlawful non-citizens on board the vessel when it was intercepted by the HMAS Dubbo. The offending was deliberate and involved considerable planning and organisation. The offender negotiated the purchase and paid for the vessel which conveyed the unlawful non-citizens to Ashmore Reef. He supplied and caused the vessel to be delivered to an associate for the purpose of the voyage to Australia. Either directly or indirectly, the passengers on board the vessel paid money to the offender for their trip. The offender organised the passengers’ accommodation in Indonesia and transport to the vessel. The offender was significantly involved in the organisation of the venture. His role was indispensable for this particular voyage to Ashmore Reef.

The objective seriousness of the offender’s criminal conduct is qualified by the following matters. The vessel was seaworthy. There was an adequate supply of water and food on board the vessel. The offender was not responsible for the conditions on board the vessel. All of those involved in the venture intended that the vessel and passengers on board the vessel would be detected by Australian authorities. There was no attempt to arrive clandestinely on the mainland with the attendant risk associated with breach of quarantine and health regulations. The fact that the vessel was to be apprehended meant that the passengers would be required to undergo health checks and the prospect of the spread of any diseases that the passengers may have suffered from was reduced. The offender only received US$2000 from the passengers with whom he dealt. He did not receive US$3500 from any passenger. The offender only dealt with Iraqi passengers and he had some humanitarian concerns about their wellbeing if they had remained in Iraq at that time…….

 As Mildren J stated in his sentencing remarks in the R v Ali Hassan Al Jenabi, it is well established that offences of this kind result in an immediate sentence of imprisonment and that no other sentence is appropriate. The offender was involved in this crime at a high level. There were 353 passengers on board the vessel and the offending was deliberately planned and organised.

I turn to sentence the offender. I sentence the offender to 5 years imprisonment. The sentence of imprisonment is backdated to 7.7.07 to reflect the time that the offender has already been in custody for the crime that he has committed. I fix a non-parole period of two years and six months. The non-parole period is also backdated to 7.7.07.