Authorities in Australia suspect a high level Sri Lankan government official of being personally "complicit" in the transfer of asylum seekers to Australia, reports The Australian.
The newspaper reports that the official, whom the paper has chosen not to identify, is alleged to be responsible for sanctioning asylum seekers boats for the past ten months, during which time several refugees have perished at sea.
Despite the allegations being known to those within Julia Gillard's government and being unearthed prior to the Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr's visit to Sri Lanka in December, the issue was reportedly not discussed during his visit.
The allegations have been dismissed by the Sri Lankan government as a smear campaign.
A spokesperson for Chris Bowen, Australia's minister for immigration, declined to comment, stating:
"As you know, we do not publicly discuss people-smuggling or national security intelligence,"
However, according to the newspaper, several Australian officials have expressed concern at the suspected Sri Lankan government official's 'near-total control over the island's marititme domain' that 'the official had the power to "turn on the tap" and unleash untold asylum boats.'
