IMMIGRATION Minister Peter Dutton has dismissed reports of asylum seekers being detained in Darwin as fake news spread by an advocacy group.

Mr Dutton confirmed there was some activity in the region but it was the Australian Border Force dealing with illegal fishing operations.

He said the incident should be a lesson for mainstream media not to run with unconfirmed reports.

A post by the Darwin Asylum Seeker Support and Advocacy Network on Twitter this morning had sparked the reports.

“We have unconfirmed reports that four boats of people seeking asylum, including infants and children, are being detained in Darwin,” DASSAN wrote on Twitter.

Mr Dutton said he had been advised there had been no arrivals of people smuggling boats in Darwin, while speaking at a press conference in Sydney about a Border Force sting which prevented the potential production of more than $240 million of methamphetamine in NSW.

“I want this to, frankly, be hopefully a bit of a lesson for some of the mainstream media taking advice from advocate groups or from unsourced tweets and then running with it as if it were fact,” he said.

“I’m advised that we don’t have any arrivals of people smuggling boats in Darwin.

“I’m advised there is some activity up there, as you would expect and as occurs on a regular basis with Australian Border Force in relation to illegal fishing operations.

“People are held in Darwin and held there until they can be deported or their matters are finalised.”

DASSAN spokeswoman Sandra Bartlett told News Corp Serco staff had been flown in from other states to respond to the arrivals.

The group had been told the arrivals, who were being held at the Mecure Hotel at Darwin Airport, were asylum seekers.

It’s believed some of the arrivals are Vietnamese.

Ms Bartlett said the arrivals should be given access to phones and legal representation if they were seeking asylum.

At the press conference in Sydney Mr Dutton announced the year-long border force operation in Sydney had resulted in the seizure of more than 300kg of ephedrine.

Nine illegal non-citizens had also been identified and detained.

“These drugs would have no doubt caused untold harm to the Australian community if they were successfully manufactured,” he said.

Mr Dutton also spoke about the Government’s plans to review laws to tackle homegrown terrorists.