Gold Coast sources reported that an Indian man has been charged with people smuggling after arriving at Australia’s Brisbane airport with eight other travelers as part of a “fake media contingent” to cover the Commonwealth Games. The authorities of ABF said the nine visitors, all from India, were flagged as possible “non-genuine travelers” when they transited through Thailand and were questioned when they arrived in Brisbane Wednesday.
The border force said “Eight were found to have fraudulent foreign media credentials”. Meanwhile the “Police will allege in court that the 46 year old Indian national who did hold valid credentials was facilitating the group’s travel.”
Accordingly the man was charged with one count of
people smuggling and one count of having false documents and false or
misleading information in relation to non-citizens and the maximum penalty for
each charge is 20 years’ jail. Further the eight others, whose ages and gender
were not released, were being held in immigration detention. Moreover
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has already warned Commonwealth
Games athletes and support staff not to overstay their visas.
