Many Sri Lankans looking for greener pastures in Australia have paid thumping amounts to Hong-Kong-based human smuggling agents. Reports said the agents charge nearly Rs. 1.3million (US$11,800) to smuggle Sri Lankan job seekers to Papua New Guinea (PNG), from where they would be sent Down Under. A PNG intelligence service officers have said that the human smuggling operators are charging US $31,600 for refugees who want to go on to Australia. \
"But it still looks like they came into PNG to have easy access somehow to Australia because they would not have had an easy way out if they had gone straight to Australia from wherever they came from. But in any case, coming to PNG, especially from a dangerous grouping, is a threat to the national security of this country in itself," the PNG intelligence officer was quoted as saying.
PNG recently deported 13 Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka who illegally entered the country. They were banned from entering PNG.