Two Indonesian people smugglers sentenced to five years jail after taking about 150 asylum seekers on a tragic voyage to Australia were preyed upon by ringleaders, a court has heard.
At least two of the passengers drowned while 143 others and three crewmates had to be rescued by the Australian Navy when their crowded vessel sank in rough seas off Christmas Island in July 2013.
The captain, Thamrin, was paid just under $2,000 for the risky venture - a sum he considered "an absolute fortune", his barrister Catherine Morgan told Brisbane District Court on Tuesday.
Ms Morgan said the fisherman, 35, was forced to work from the age of 11 after his father deserted the family, and had become the main source of income for his siblings and mother.
"If he understood the problems with the engine of the vessel he wouldn't have embarked on the journey," she said.
Thamrin's 33-year-old mechanic, Charles Blegur, was paid about $700, but both sums were paltry compared to the fortunes enjoyed by their bosses who collected $4000-5000 from each passenger.
"That values the trip at somewhere between $560,000 and as much as $700,000 - that's in American dollars," Blegur's barrister Bruce Mumford said.
The court heard Blegur agreed to take on the job weeks after his youngest daughter was born, but didn't have time to pass on his payment to his family before departing Jakarta.
"What happened to the money?" Justice Glenn Martin asked.
"Bottom of the ocean," Mr Mumford replied.
The men pleaded guilty to people smuggling after serving almost two years or pre-sentence custody.
They sat quietly and listened to an interpreter in the dock.
"Both of you are simple working men, each attempting to look after your families as best you can," Justice Martin said.
"But for the obviously brave effort of the Navy ... a complete tragedy would have occurred."
Justice Martin imposed the mandatory minimum sentence of five years jail with a non-parole period of three years.
They would likely be deported to Indonesia if they were granted parole, he said.
"This is another instance of organised criminals preying on what has been described by Ms Morgan as poor and desperate people," he said.
