NewsAustralia has returned home six Sri Lankans that it said were onboard a "people-smuggling boat" after intercepting it at sea, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said on Wednesday (Aug 17). Under "Operation Sovereign Borders" asylum-seekers trying to reach Australia by boat are either sent back to where they departed from or transferred to remote Pacific island camps. "Australia has returned a group of Sri Lankan nationals to Sri Lanka yesterday (Tuesday) after recently intercepting a people smuggling venture," the minister said in a statement. "Six Sri Lankans who were attempting to travel illegally to Australia were aboard the vessel which was intercepted on an approach to Australia." "We have worked cooperatively with Sri Lanka for several years now and since Operation Sovereign Borders began in 2013 every Sri Lankan boat that has attempted to come to Australia illegally, has failed," he added.

Source: Sunday Times August 17, 2016 03:33 UTC