In Indonesia, a group of about 250 Sri Lankan asylum seekers has been waiting in limbo, after Indonesian authorities detained their wooden boat last month.

The migrants had been trying to reach Australian territory, but were intercepted by the Indonesian navy on Oct. 11. Their wooden boat had a spray-painted sign that read: "We are Sri Lankan civilians. Plz save our life."

Australian media reports indicate that the migrants have stayed on their boat while authorities sort out what to do with them. They have communicated to the outside world through 'Alex,' an English-speaking spokesperson who did not identify his full name until recently.

The spokesperson has since identified himself as Sanjeev Kuhendrarajah -- a 27-year-old, Sri Lankan man who was deported from Canada six years ago because of his involvement in gang activity in Toronto.

Kuhendrarajah's background in Canada is spelled out in the text of a removal order dated Nov. 12, 2002, that can be viewed on the Immigration and Refugee Board website.

He came to Canada when he was five years old, so that he could live with his maternal grandparents.

Kuhendrarajah became a landed immigrant when he was nine, but in time, he was "having problems at home and at school, as he was not amenable to parental control and was skipping school," according to the IRB documents.

Kuhendrarajah eventually received counselling "for problems with anger," and in his late teens, began living with a group of friends in a basement apartment near McCowan and Ellesmere Roads in Toronto.

When Kuhendrarajah was 18, he was charged and pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered restricted weapon and to uttering threats, which the IRB documents describe as a death threat against a Toronto high school student who was allegedly a member of a rival gang. The weapon he was carrying was a sawed-off .22 handgun that he tucked in the waistband of his pants.

Kuhendrarajah was eventually deported to Sri Lanka in 2003, although the Canadian Border Services Agency would not specify where he was sent.

"I can confirm that Mr. Kuhendrarajah was removed in April 2003. For privacy reasons we will not disclose the country he was removed to," a CBSA spokesperson told CTV.ca by email.

In recent days, Kuhendrarajah has revealed his criminal past to Australian media as he makes a case for asylum.

"I can't try to defend my mistakes, but I can see these mistakes were made when I was young, confused, under peer pressure and a lot of adolescent things that go through any teen's mind at the time," Kuhendrarajah told Australia's ABC News.

"It has been almost nine years since my conviction, since I was arrested, but I hope the Australian Government understands my refugee claims and I have the proof for my refugee claims to show the unit here."

Separately, Kuhendrarajah told The Australian newspaper that he regrets acting as a spokesperson for his fellow refugees because it has put him in the spotlight.

He also said that if anything happens to his wife or children, who are still back in Sri Lanka, he will "hold the Australian government and the Indonesian government responsible for their murders."

Back in Canada, authorities have been dealing with their own group of would-be Sri Lankan migrants who arrived off the B.C. coast last month.

All-in-all, 76 young Sri Lankan men were aboard the Ocean Lady vessel that was intercepted in Canadian waters on Oct. 17.

Most of the men have remained in custody since landing in Canada. At least one has been released under strict conditions.

Canadian authorities have said they have concerns that some of the migrants may have ties to the Tamil Tigers -- the militant arm of the Tamil separatist movement that has been in conflict with the Sri Lankan government for decades.

The Sri Lankan civil war, which ended in May, killed between 80,000 and 100,000 over its 25-year duration.

With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press