Mr Bram, whose real name is Abraham Louhenapessy, was allegedly given 1.5 billion rupiah ($NZ154,395) to carry out the directions. He recruited others, who linked him up with a boat, captain and crew. While Mr Bram was busy organising the boat, prosecutors say Mr Kugan was rounding up the people to go into it. The second time, the 2015 trials of the crew and captain heard that Australian officials handed them $US32,000 to turn back. Upon Bram's re-arrest last year, the Australian government described him as a "key player in the people smuggling network".

Source: Otago Daily Times February 02, 2017 00:54 UTC