Australian security agencies are keeping a watchful eye on local efforts to help people smugglers overseas after a boatload of suspected asylum seekers ran aground in far north Queensland.
Border officials are also ramping up surveillance efforts following the successful venture on Sunday, the first since 2014.
It's believed 15 of them have been taken to Christmas Island, while the remaining pair have been arrested by Australian Federal Police.
There are reports one of the men, the captain, made contact with people in Sydney before his arrest in an attempt to arrange transport from the area.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton on Thursday would not confirm the details but said agencies were aware of onshore efforts to organise such vessels.
"We know they're in contact with people smugglers offshore," he told Sydney's 2GB radio.
"We know that there's money to be made and they will take money off these people to put them onto boats.
"We have a number of AFP and ASIO investigations underway on a regular basis around what involvement these people have had in trying to put together these vessels."
Mr Dutton said Border Force officials will learn lessons from the incident and will step up their efforts as a result.
"If we need to increase the hours of surveillance flights that we have then that will happen," he said.
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