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The Sri Lakan navy said Saturday that another group of illegal asylum seekers were arrested as they were preparing to head to Australia. Navy spokesman Kosala Warnakulasuriya said that some of the illegal asylum seekers were arrested in the coastal town of Negombo located just outside the capital while the others were arrested at sea. All those who have been arrested will be handed over to the police who will in turn charge them and produce them in court. Hundreds of people have been arrested over the past several weeks by the police and navy in Sri Lanka as they attempted to make the treacherous journey to Australia by boat to seek asylum. However, many more have managed to slip through undetected and reached Australia from a detention center on Christmas Island . Meanwhile, the Australian media reported that Sri Lanka wants Australia to send back asylum seekers in large numbers to deter people smugglers. Senior Sri Lankan naval officials have also asked for the loan of a boat to bolster patrol operations in an area people smugglers are known to travel through. Over 1,300 Sri Lankans have reached Australia illegally since January 2012 using asylum boats, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. A Tamil politician was arrested in the eastern part of Sri Lanka this week over allegations he was involved in the human smuggling operations. Police said that he had taken money from Tamils and organized boats to send them to Australia illegally. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence said last month that several people in the north have managed to obtain forged documents with the assistance of some public representatives indicating that they have undergone abuse and assault and need asylum overseas.

Lanka arrests asylum seekers heading to Australia