Australia detains Iraqi over people smuggling

The Australian Federal Police said yesterday it had charged an Iraqi man for his part in organising a peoplesmuggling venture that led to the deaths of more than 350 asylum seekers when their boat sank in 2001. The man, 43, was taken into custody at Brisbane Airport in Southeast Queensland, on Friday after his extradition from New Zealand and has been charged with “organising groups of non-citizens to Australia”, the police said. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison. The police say he was a part of a syndicate that organised people smuggling, mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan, to Australia. He is the third person to face court in the case.