People smuggling ship carrying Chinese detained en route to Australia

Singapore: Indonesian police have arrested six Chinese nationals and six suspected people smugglers believed to be attempting an illegal boat trip to Australia.

East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) police said on Friday that the group was discovered on Wednesday in waters near the town of Kupang, about 500 kilometers travel from Australia.

The failed mission comes about a month after a separate group of Chinese successfully reached northern Western Australia and entered Truscott Air Base.

In February, 39 nationals from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India also arrived in Western Australia with Indonesian people smugglers. All would-be migrants from both companies were detained in Australia and sent to Nauru for processing.