Australian Border Force (ABF) officers have detained seven Malaysian unlawful non-citizens (UNC) in Perth, as part of an ongoing national operation targeting unscrupulous labour hire intermediaries and foreign worker exploitation.
An Operation Battenrun warrant, under s251 of the Migration Act 1958, was executed on a house on a market garden property in the southern Perth suburb of Anketell yesterday morning. Officers located four men, two women and a teenage boy, all extended members of the same family.
The primary target of the warrant, a 28-year-old man, is suspected of involvement in illegal worker exploitation in the agricultural sector. He is also suspected of operating as an unregistered migration agent, exploiting Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) and Protection Visa (PV) processes.
He had been living in Australia as a UNC since July 2017.
The other men detained were two of his brothers aged 24 and 32 and his father aged 54.
ABF investigators suspect the target’s adult brothers were also working illegally.
All four men have been detained at the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre (YHIDC) pending their removal from Australia.
The warrant target’s 47-year old mother, 24-year-old sister-in-law and 13-year-old brother were also located living in the house. They too are UNC.
The mother and the 13-year-old have been placed in an Alternative Place of Detention (APOD) whilst the 24-year-old was sent to the Perth Immigration Detention Centre (PIDC).
It is expected they will be removed back to Malaysia with the four men as soon as is practicable.
ABF Superintendent of Enforcement Operations in WA, Clint Sims, said Operation Battenrun had achieved considerable success since it started late last year, targeting people facilitating illegal foreign work and organised migration fraud.
“The exploitation of illegal workers is a blight on our society. Those workers are extremely vulnerable and are often underpaid and poorly treated,” Superintendent Simms said.
“The conditions inside that rental house were squalid to say the least.
“The unscrupulous individuals facilitating illegal worker exploitation are making significant profits at their expense, and it also disadvantages local businesses who do the right thing by paying and treating their workers properly.
“This is an operational priority for the ABF and we are working very hard to identify and take action against those organising illegal work and foreign worker exploitation.”
The removal of these individuals will be referred to Malaysian authorities with the intention of preventing future travel outside of Malaysia.
The ABF also participates in Taskforce Cadena, to detect and disrupt criminal syndicates that profit from the criminal exploitation of foreign workers and Australia’s migration system.
Anyone who is aware of an individual, business or employer who might be facilitating visa fraud or illegal work is urged to contact Border Watch at www.abf.gov.au/borderwatch
