http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/jakarta-to-send-suspect-trafficker-sayed-abbas-here-for-trial/story-fn9hm1gu-1226122466866 Jakarta to send suspect trafficker Sayed Abbas here for trial Peter Alford From: The Australian August 26, 2011 12:00AM Sayed Abbas under questioning at the Indonesian anti-people smuggling taskforce headquarters in Jakarta yesterday. Picture ABC-TV Source: Supplied
SAYED Abbas, the biggest catch yet in the campaign to break Indonesian people-smuggling rackets, is headed for deportation to Australia to face trial over his alleged role in organising people-smuggling ventures. The head of the Indonesian national police's anti-people-smuggling taskforce, Budi Santoso, said yesterday Australia's extradition request for Abbas, 29, had been approved by Justice Minister Patrialis Akbar, but he warned that the process would be lengthy. Indonesian police sources confirmed that Abbas's arrest on Wednesday - eight weeks after The Australian revealed he had been released from custody and was continuing to organise people-smuggling boats - was the result of Australia's request. Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor, without naming the suspect, said he was "of significant interest" to Australian and Indonesian authorities. "I am advised the AFP is working with the Attorney-General's Department on the potential extradition of this man to Australia to face serious charges relating to his alleged activities in organising multiple people-smuggling ventures to Australia," Mr O'Connor said. The Justice Ministry sent police the Australian request for Abbas's arrest and extradition on August 12, one day after the year's biggest boatload so far, 102 passengers and four crew, was intercepted north of Christmas Island. Australian Federal Police told the Indonesian taskforce they believed the Afghanistan-born smuggler was responsible for the shipment, labelled SIEV-260. Colonel Budi said yesterday he had heard that Abbas, an ethnic Hazara who came to Indonesia from Quetta in Pakistan about a decade ago, was behind the SIEV-260 boat, "but we need to further investigate it". The taskforce was investigating whether at the time of his arrest Abbas was organising another large asylum-seeker boat to leave within days, he said. The arrest comes three months after Ali Khorram Heydarkhani was sent from Indonesia to face 89 charges relating to four asylum-seeker boats, including SIEV-221, which crashed on the rocks of Christmas Island last December, killing about 50 people. Abbas's operation mainly moved Hazaras from Pakistan and Afghanistan. Australia had been seeking his extradition since 2009. He has been arrested at least twice previously, but after being caught in May last year he was released on bail in about March. The Australian published reports on June 30 accusing Abbas and Sajjad Hussain Noor, another Hazara operator also bailed while Canberra was seeking his extradition, of returning to full-scale smuggling operations when freed. Abbas yesterday repeated his steady denials since 2009 of any involvement in smuggling. "I have never sent any boats," he said while being videoed by an ABC cameraman at taskforce headquarters. "It's not my job to send boats. All of this is because the Australian police (in Jakarta) have many Afghan informants. They give them incorrect information." According to The Australian's information, however, Abbas successfully despatched at least three boats since late May, a total of 220 boatpeople arriving in Australia within three months. Two other parties of refugees totalling about 110 people, and alleged to be destined for Abbas boats, were arrested on land during that time. Abbas was this week allegedly making final preparations for another large shipment, about 100 people, to leave on Sunday. Its arrival would have coincided with the High Court's decision next Wednesday on an application to strike down the Gillard government's Malaysia Solution. According to one of the 42 people who had allegedly booked passages on the boat, smugglers were telling those clients who had heard of the Malaysian agreement that it was already defeated. "The deal with Malaysia is finished already," the Afghan man said in a conversation heard by The Australian. "It's not going ahead so we may as well go (to Australia)." Another man said he had discussed the impending voyage with Abbas this week, who told him departure was due for Sunday. Abbas was arrested about 3.40am on Wednesday with five others in Jakarta's Kebon Sirih district, the hub of the city's people-smuggling and refugee activity. Peter Alford is The Australian's Jakarta correspondent Additional reporting: Paul Maley Related Coverage a.. AIDE: Soft line spurred on smugglers b.. MALAYSIA: Canberra overrules UN on refugee kids c.. EX-DIPLOMAT: Nation's image in peril, says Woolcott a.. Notorious people smuggler caught Courier Mail, 1 day ago b.. Leading people-smuggler detained The Australian, 1 day ago c.. Smuggler on loose despite sentence The Australian, 19 Jul 2011 d.. People-smuggling fines not imposed The Australian, 4 Jul 2011 e.. People-smuggler slips through the net The Australian, 1 Jul 2011 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: [email protected] [email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
