( CNN ) -- Australia has extradited a man from Germany to face charges of people smuggling , after a three-and-a-half year manhunt by federal police and Interpol . The 42-year-old man was allegedly involved in organizing a fishing boat carrying 56 people , which arrived in Australian waters from Indonesia in September 2010 . He 's been charged with eight counts of people smuggling . If found guilty he faces up to 20 years in prison . Australia 's Minister for Justice , Michael Keenan , said the man 's extradition sent a clear sign to other suspected traffickers . `` The message to those who are suspected of participating in this evil crime is clear -- Australian law enforcement will ensure they are tracked down to face the full force of our laws , '' he said . OPINION : Deterring and denying asylum seekers in Australia . Border crackdown . Soon after his election as prime minister in September 2013 , Tony Abbott declared an unofficial war on people smugglers . He announced `` Operation Sovereign Borders , '' a military-led crackdown meant to deter potential asylum seekers from making the risky voyage to Australian waters . The government said the policy would save lives lost at sea . Critics responded that it was an attempt to evade Australia 's international obligations to provide refuge to those fleeing persecution . On Thursday , Abbott announced again the policy was working ; no asylum seekers had successfully arrived in the country by boat in six months . `` I 'm not declaring victory ; there 's no hint of mission accomplished , '' Abbott told reporters . However , he pointed out in a statement that under the former Labor government , during the same six-month period the previous year , 190 boats with 12,773 people had illegally arrived in Australia -- `` more than a boat a day . '' The operation may have been successful in reducing the number of boats arriving in Australia , but the government 's policy on asylum seekers has attracted fierce criticism . Amnesty International has called the government treatment of asylum seekers `` cruel , inhuman and degrading . '' Violence on Manus Island . After taking office , the Abbott government said it would continue a Labor plan to process all asylum seekers at offshore detention centers . One of the most controversial centers is on Manus Island , Papua New Guinea , where hundreds of male asylum seekers are being held in four security compounds . The center opened in August 2013 , but the numbers of detainees , or transferees as they 're also known , has since swelled to more than 1,300 . In February , uncertainty about their future , combined with antagonism between the detainees and PNG nationals working at the center , saw protests erupt into a night of violence . An independent review commissioned by the government into the riots heard claims of simmering tensions between asylum seekers and PNG nationals employed at the center . The report , released in May , found the detainees became angry after a meeting because they felt questions relating to when their claims would be processed were n't being answered . What happened next was a blur of beatings and clashes that ended in the death of one asylum seeker , Iranian Reza Berati . Dozens of others were injured , including one man who lost an eye , and another who was shot in the buttocks . Senate inquiry . This month , a Senate Inquiry into the February violence has heard submissions about the ongoing fear and trauma suffered by transferees on the island . `` Asylum seekers do not have enough clothing , or hygiene products . The facilities are grossly inadequate and unsanitary . Mental health conditions are rife , '' said Nicole Judge , a former Salvation Army worker . Another , former G4S security guard , Steve Kilburn , told the inquiry that within a week after arriving on Manus Island he formed the opinion that `` there is only one possible outcome on Manus Island and that is bloodshed . '' He said he thought `` violence was inevitable '' because of the remote location of the center , the poor living and working conditions , tensions between local PNG guards and transferees and the lack of hope felt by the asylum seekers that their claims would ever be processed . The Senate Inquiry is due to report on July 16 .
42-year - old man returned from Malaysia to Australia to face people smuggling charges . Man 's accused of organizing boat to take 56 illegal immigrants to Australia . Country has been clamping down on asylum seekers arriving by boat . Part of a broader policy to protect asylum applicants , he claims offshore .