Australian Federal Police have arrested five foreign nationals accused of being ''key players'' in offshore people-smuggling syndicates, in raids across three states on Thursday.
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Assistant Commissioner Steve Lancaster said three men had been arrested in Australian detention centres, accused of organising boats bound for Australia in Indonesia, before coming here by boat themselves.
He said that of the five men arrested, four had come to Australia by boat, but would not say whether they had come as asylum seekers or as crew on the boats.
He said there was no suggestion they had continued to conduct their people-smuggling operations from within the detention centres. Police say the five - three Afghans, one Pakistani and one Iranian - had brought up to 132 boats to Australia in the past year. Assistant Commissioner Lancaster was not able to say how many asylum seekers they had brought in.
He said the police operation had been running for about a year, and involved seven separate investigations in Australia and overseas, and tip-offs from more than 200 people.
The five men were arrested in NSW, South Australia and Western Australia. The police said the men had operated in every state and territory except Tasmania.
Three were remanded after facing court on Thursday and two more will face court in Sydney on Friday.