Man found dead at Sydney detention centre

A male detainee has died in the Villawood Detention Centre in Sydney's west.

Emergency services responded to reports of a deceased person at the centre about 6.30pm on Friday, a police spokesman told AAP.

The death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Refugee advocate Ian Rintoul said the man was a refugee from Sierra Leone who was found in his room in the centre's Mitchell compound after taking his own life.

"This is a completely shocking and unnecessary death," Mr Rintoul, spokesman for the Refugee Action Coalition, said in a statement on Friday.

An Australian Border Force spokesperson told AAP in a statement that the department offered its condolences to the man's family and friends.

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