Melbourne Border Force police ‘planned taxi rank’ visa checks

Melbourne :The Australian Border Force (ABF) had planned random checks at Melbourne taxi ranks as part of an aborted visa fraud operation, local media report.Internal emails obtained by ABC under the Freedom of Information act show officers were to do “status checks” of suspected illegal immigrants.Operation Fortitude was cancelled in August after a public outcry and accusations of racial profiling.The ABF at the time blamed a “clumsily worded” media release for the furore.Senior officials have since apologised for the “public confusion, concern and distress” caused by the operation, which had been planned as part of a general crime crackdown involving several security agencies.Apology. The emails obtained by ABC’s 7:30 programme show that six ABF officers were to carry out checks at the taxi ranks on Flinders Street and Southern Cross Station.