Darwin chef sentenced over role as 'Uber driver' for people smugglers
A brazen example of people smuggling has been recounted in the Northern Territory Supreme Court, after three Chinese nationals made it into Darwin Harbour on a small wooden fishing boat.
After an eight-day journey below deck on a cramped wooden fishing boat from Indonesia, three Chinese nationals arrived illegally into Darwin Harbour in the darkness before dawn.
Unlike many others trying to enter Australia via its vast northern borders, the trio hadn't been detected by Australian maritime authorities, and managed to make it ashore.
It was just after 5am on April 24, 2024, when they were met by a 22-year-old Darwin man named Ziyang Sun outside a military museum in the city's popular East Point Reserve.
The trio arrived, undetected, on the shores of Darwin's East Point Reserve. (ABC News: Michael Franchi)
It was a brazen example of people smuggling into Australia, and one which has now landed Sun in home detention for 18-months, and seen the three Chinese nationals deported.
The operation was laid bare in the NT Supreme Court — Sun was sentenced on December 16 after pleading guilty to one charge of people smuggling.
Sun was given details through encrypted messages about where to meet the trio, and was expecting financial compensation for being what he described as their "Uber driver".
The court heard Sun had acted as a chaperone, driving the trio to a local shopping centre for groceries, before helping them book accommodation at the Oaks Hotel in Darwin CBD.
Sun helped them book accommodation at the Oaks Hotel in Darwin, as well as acting as a chaperone. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)
A video shot in Sun's car shows the trio's elation at reaching Australian shores.
"We've arrived. We've arrived. Ah, we've arrived in Australia. Very happy,"
they said.
On April 27, Sun drove the three people to Darwin Airport, where they were able to board a Jetstar flight to Sydney and disappear into the community for months.
For his efforts in facilitating the transfer, Sun had received around $US5,100 ($7,600).
The Chinese nationals boarded a Jetstar flight to Sydney, where they disappeared into the community for months. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)
In sentencing Sun, Supreme Court Justice Jenny Blokland said during July and August, 2024, the trio was "detected in the Australian community and removed from Australia".