Indonesian police arrest Afghan man suspected of smuggling asylum seekers to Australia

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesian police have arrested an Afghan man for allegedly smuggling asylum seekers to Australia, including a group whose boat sank last month, leaving at least 17 dead and more than 70 missing.

National police spokesman Brig. Gen. Anang Iskandar says Dawood Amiri was arrested in Jakarta on Friday.

Iskandar says Amiri, who came to Indonesia two years ago, has connections with a syndicate that smuggles Afghans and Pakistanis into Indonesia through Iran.

He says Amiri organized shipments assisted by a Pakistani man identified only as Sidik, one of more than 200 asylum seekers whose boat capsized June 21 on the way to Australia's Christmas Island. Sidik was among 110 survivors.

Iskandar said Tuesday that Amiri told police he had organized three other boat trips to Australia for asylum seekers.