People smuggling tops Australian tour

By CNN's Kirsty Alfredson

HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Australia's immigration minister will visit Southeast Asia in a bid to stop a flood of illegal immigrants.

The Minister for Immigration Philip Ruddock is due to stop over in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam as part of Australia's "ongoing international campaign to enhance cooperation on the illegal movement of people".

Ruddock's four-day trip comes amid a surge in the number of people entering Australia illegally using organized criminal gangs.

Australia's department of immigration says Bangkok is part of an established smuggling route used by people from the Middle East and North Africa.

Official statistics show between December 1999 and January 2001, 59 boats were intercepted carrying 3,796 people, more than the combined total of illegal boat arrivals in the last three years.

Ruddock is also due to stop in Jakarta and Hanoi to talk with government ministers and officials about how to deal with people smugglers and illegal immigrants.

Indonesia and Thailand are among the top 10 source countries for people refused immigration clearance at Australian airports.

A report from the Australian Institute of Criminology, released last week, found people smuggling by boat to Australia had become a much more sophisticated operation.

Small wooden boats are now being replaced by larger, steel-hulled ships with high-tech navigation equipment, capable of traveling longer distances, including China direct to Australia.

Detention policy controversial

People who arrive in Australia without authority are legally required to be held in detention until their situation is resolved. That policy has attracted sharp criticism from human rights groups.

There have been major riots in the detention centers. The most recent occurred on Saturday after a riot broke out at the Woomera detention center, which officials said involved 150 people.

The minister leaves Australia as the second of seven asylum seekers that escaped from the remote center in South Australia was arrested in Sydney.

The 23-year-old man is now in the custody of the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.

The seven Middle Eastern men escaped under a fence after digging their way out of the remote detention center last Saturday.

Reuters contributed to this report.