Australia stops suspected Lankan refugees

Authorities have intercepted a boat believed to be travelling from Sri Lanka carrying suspected refugees in Australian waters, Australia Immigration Minister Chris Evans said yesterday.

It was the fifth boatload of suspected asylum seekers to enter Australian territorial waters in two months. Evans said the vessel, carrying 35 passengers and five crew, was spotted by a surveillance plane late on Tuesday and intercepted near Ashmore Island, off Australia's northwest shore.

The nationalities and intentions of the group were not yet known. Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus said the boat is believed to have travelled from Sri Lanka. Evans suggested the boat may have been part of a people-smuggling syndicate, and said the smugglers were trying to avoid interception by changing their tactics and the size of their boats.

"There is also increasing evidence that people smugglers are recruiting customers in source countries."

AP