ABF removes 12 foreign nationals from Australia due to serious criminal convictions

The Australian Border Force has removed 12 foreign nationals convicted with serious crimes from Australia last week. Their crimes range from trafficking of dangerous drugs to violent and child sex offences.

The crackdown is part of the ABF’s effort to deport foreign-born individuals with criminal convictions from the country. Just over the past few weeks, there were several bikie gang members whose Australian visa was cancelled or who were denied entry to the country because they “presented a risk to the health, safety or good order of the Australian community.”

Most of them were removed under section 501 of the Migration Act, which is the refusal or cancellation of visa on character grounds.

Last week, the ABF had removed 12 individuals due to various crime convictions. One of them was a 55-year-old UK national, whose visa was cancelled over his significant criminal history. He had been convicted of criminal damage by fire and a number of other serious convictions from 1988.

Another UK national, 48, was removed from Brisbane on Thursday. He had been jailed for a year for possessing child exploitation material and was detailed by the ABF after he was released.

A 79-year-old British national was deported on Wednesday. He was convicted of numerous counts of assault and committing an act of indecency against a child under 16 years old in 2014.

Three individuals from New Zealand were also removed on different days. One of them, a 33-year-old was removed from Brisbane on Sep. 11. He had an extensive criminal history, which includes drug offences, and had been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for assault. A 59-year-old, was removed from Australia on Thursday after he was released from prison in the Northern Territory. He was jailed in 2016 for importing a marketable quantity of a border-controlled drug. A 39-year-old New Zealander was removed from Brisbane the following day after his visa was cancelled under s501 of the Migration Act. He had been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for trafficking dangerous drugs among other charges.

And on Friday, a 31-year-old Indian national was removed from Sydney. He had been jailed to two years’ imprisonment for using a carriage service to groom a child under 16 years old for sexual activity.

“The ABF plays a critical role in locating, detaining and removing unlawful non-citizens that pose a threat to the Australian community, particularly those involved in exploiting children and the vulnerable,” ABF Commander Field and Removal Operation James Copeman said. “We will continue to identify these foreign nationals who have been convicted of violent offences, drug offences or crimes against children and will remove them as quickly as possible. The Australian public has a right to feel safe.”