Footage emerges of accused people smugglers - as it's revealed boatload of alleged illegal Chinese arrivals to Australia spent hours going to a supermarket and a pub before they were found

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 15:13, 1 July 2026 | Updated: 15:13, 1 July 2026 A group of people accused of attempting to sneak onto Australian shores, believed to be Chinese asylum seekers, visited a pub and Woolworths before their arrests. Australian Border Force (ABF) found a vessel washed ashore at a remote camping spot near Weipa, the largest town on the Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, early Tuesday morning. About a dozen men allegedly set up camp at Pennefather Beach before they attempted to check into the nearby Albatross Bay Resort. 'Our friends came and saw us first thing in the morning and told us about a boat coming ashore during the night,' camper Dan Tonon told 9News. 'They were going to go down and help them because they thought they were bogged, but they were speaking a whole different language.' Authorities were quickly called to the scene but the group had already been collected by two alleged people smugglers. It's understood the asylum seekers were driven into Weipa where some visited a pub and others walked to a Woolworths. CCTV footage shows two men, believed to be the alleged smugglers, stopped to eat sandwiches at Weipa Bakery. Two men (above) are accused of attempting to smuggle about a dozen people into Australia The two men were arrested (above) while eating sandwiches at Weipa Bakery The pair were seen casually walking through a shopping centre to the bakery and ordering food from the hot box alongside two cans of Coke. Officers approached the men as they were eating, arrested them and marched them from the centre. One of the men, a 34-year-old Taiwanese national, was charged with one count of aggravated offence of people smuggling. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years behind bars. The 34-year-old was remanded in custody and is due to front Cairns Magistrates Court on Thursday. The other man, aged 30, has been detained under the Migration Act pending further inquiries. 'Investigations into this matter are ongoing,' Australian Federal Police said in a statement. Queensland Police Minister Dan Purdie later said the group from the boat were also later detained. It's alleged the two men (pictured during their arrests) drove the group of asylum seekers into Weipa where they went to a pub and Woolworths 'What I've heard today is that the people have made it ashore and police are helping ABF to detain those people,' he said. 'But this is an absolute embarrassment for the Albanese government. The Federal government needs to secure our borders.' News of the suspected unauthorised arrival prompted renewed calls to strengthen Australia's border protection.  'All over the news tonight, a boatload of a dozen illegal Chinese immigrants intercepted at Weipa in my electorate,' Cook MP David Kempton said on Tuesday. 'I have for months been advocating [that] the Federal government take seriously our porous northern borders after dozens of illegal Indonesian fishing vessels were captured in the Torres Strait. 'That such a large vessel was able to venture so far into Australian waters before being detected proves there is much to be done. 'We need to act now before this escalates out of control.' At least a dozen asylum seeker boats carrying a combined 80 passengers arrived on Australia's shores in recent months, according to the Refugee Council of Australia. The group had been taken from Pennefather Beach (above) before police arrived but were later arrested Anyone who attempts an unauthorised boat voyage to Australia will be turned back to their point of departure, returned to their home country, or transferred to a third country for processing, according to the Home Affairs department. 'Since 2013, Australia has intercepted every boat attempting to enter illegally,' a statement on the government website says.  'Every vessel is closely watched. 'There is zero chance of illegal migration to Australia.' Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.