Indian nationals detained as 'imposters'

The Australian Border Force (ABF) said one 46-year-old man has been charged with people smuggling and falsifying documents, after the group was questioned at Brisbane airport and eight were found to be carrying fraudulent media accreditation.

The man has been remanded in custody and was due to appear before the Brisbane magistrate’s court on Thursday. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in jail.

The other eight individuals have been sent to immigration detention.

ABF said an air liaison officer (ALO) in Bangkok had flagged the group as potential non-genuine travellers as they transited on the way to Australia, and they were detained and questioned on arrival.

“Anyone wishing to enter Australia, including athletes, team officials, spectators and the media, must hold a valid visa and accreditation and must be deemed to be a legitimate visitor,” the ABF regional commander Terry Price said.

“We have a skilled network of ALOs at key overseas international airports who can identify travellers of concern and stop them travelling or, as in this case, provide real-time information to alert colleagues onshore.”

“The ABF remains highly alert to other similar attempts that may occur as we get closer to the start of the Commonwealth Games.” 

Anna, the Wales sensation 

Anna Hursey, an 11-year-old from Cardiff, is in the Wales team for the Commonwealth Games in Australia.

Anna is currently ranked No 18 in the world at Under-15 level and No 11 in Europe.

Hursey was taken by her mother, Xiuli Zhang, a business administrator and translator who also uses the name Phoebe, to China in 2016 to experience Chinese schooling.

She started playing table tennis at the age of seven. Phoebe had struggled to find anyone who would play with her daughter in Wales. Well, the word is Chinese coaches beat students with bat handles when they missed a shot.

“It was a bit scary because if you get something wrong, they just, like, hit you.

“Not me, though. I felt really sorry for my friend because when she missed the ball, they’d use the bat handle to whack her hand as punishment.

Yet when I missed it, they were, like, ‘Oh, that’s OK’.”