Three Indonesian people smugglers who dropped 39 men at a remote stretch of the Dampier Peninsula on February 15, were later arrested after their boat broke down – a fact that has not previously been reported.

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Their boat broke down about 30 nautical miles from Indonesian waters, costing them valuable hours. Australian Border Force officers then hauled the men to Darwin, where they stayed for about two weeks.

The federal government confirmed the capture and release, insisting deporting rather than prosecution was part of an agreement with the Indonesian government.

Despite people smuggling carrying significant prison sentences under Australian law, a government spokesman added that the crime was committed in Indonesia because that was where the money changed hands.

The discovery of the 39 “illegal maritime arrivals” from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indian nationals near the bush community of Beagle Bay on February 16 sparked a political storm over the health or otherwise of Operation Sovereign Borders.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese repeatedly stated that the would-be immigrants had been flown to Nauru.

It was not mentioned that on the very same day the men landed in WA, the smugglers had also been caught at sea and detained, and would be deported.

In exclusive interviews with this masthead and 60 Minutes, one of the smugglers Ali Sarwano said he believed the Australian authorities initially mistook the three smugglers for run-of-the-mill illegal fishermen.

“I think at some point they may have suspected us, but officially we were arrested for trespassing. The people smuggling aspect was never mentioned while we were in Australia,” Sarwano, using a pseudonym to protect his safety, claimed.

The government spokesman said the trio was always suspected of people smuggling and their boat was swept for evidence before it was burned at sea shortly after their capture.

Sarwano said he only spoke about smuggling when presented with evidence by Indonesian investigators, with whom he continued to cooperate.

“I don’t know why I was not processed [for people smuggling] in Australia or in Indonesia. I am just grateful I was not,” he said.

Neither Australian Border Force nor the government spokesperson cited the trio’s potential to help Indonesia in arresting senior smuggling agents as a reason for letting them go.

Sarwano, a fisherman from Southeast Sulawesi province, accepted the smuggling job for the equivalent of just $3000.

The mission left from Bali’s Medewi Beach, about 70 kilometres from the holiday hotspots of Denpasar, on what was probably the night of February 11, and sailed undetected for four days and nights on a wooden fishing boat powered with a modified car engine.

“We already estimated the time when there would be no air patrol – we knew their schedule,” he said, referring to the ABF patrols.

“We did our job and returned to Indonesia, but there was a problem with the steering wheel. It took me three to five hours to fix it. That was when the Australians caught us. If we didn’t have machine problems, we would’ve gotten away.”

An Australian Border Force spokesperson said the operation sent a “powerful message” to people considering the journey by boat.

“We are watching and responding,” a spokesperson said. “The swift identification, interception and destruction of this vessel, coupled with the removal of its crew, underlines the robust capability and resolve of the [Operation Sovereign Borders] model.”

Sarwano said he had empathy for the 39 passengers he dropped in WA, in contrast with the stereotype of people smugglers as heartless tricksters.

“I do feel bad about the foreigners,” he said. “They went all the way there to look for work. I don’t know what happened to them after. I did my job taking them. That’s it.”

To see more on this investigation watch 60 Minutes on Sunday at 8.05pm.