Sydney man charged after allegedly stranding family overseas
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A southwest Sydney man who allegedly stranded his wife and one-year-old child in Pakistan is facing human trafficking charges.
The Australian Federal Police's Eastern Command Human Trafficking team launched an investigation in February 2025, after a woman reported her husband had left her in Pakistan without documentation after the family travelled overseas together from Australia.
It will be alleged the man, 45, deceptively convinced his wife and child to travel with him to Pakistan in August 2024.
On arrival, he allegedly took the child's passport and abandoned the pair at the airport.
He returned to Australia by himself later that month.
A Sydney man is facing human trafficking charges. Picture: AFP
The man then allegedly fraudulently cancelled the Australian visa of his wife in November 2024, and retained possession of the child's passport.
The wife reported the matter to the AFP when she was able to return to Australia in February this year.
AFP investigators engaged with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to facilitate the child's return to Australia. The child was born in Australia and is an Australian citizen.
AFP investigators executed a search warrant at an Austral home on Thursday and seized a number of electronic items and documents.
The man was later charged with two counts of trafficking a person from Australia using deception. The offences carries a maximum 12 year prison sentence.
The 45-year-old was arrested at Austral, Sydney. Picture: AFP
He was also charged with one count of dealing with identification information involving the use of a carriage service. That charge carries a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.
AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Luke Needham said the allegations in this matter could be described as potential 'exit trafficking' offences.
'Carrying out actions to force or encourage someone to travel overseas and then impede their ability to return to Australia can be a serious criminal offence, and the AFP will not hesitate to act when we have evidence of criminal actions,' Detective Needham said.
'Exit trafficking offences quite often occur within family units or in situations where close relationships have disintegrated, and there is a concern these types of offences are under-reported in Australia.
'The AFP encourages anyone who suspects they, or someone they know, has been a victim of exit trafficking to come forward. All complaints will be taken seriously and appropriately assessed with dignity, and the AFP can help victims obtain the support and assistance they require.'
Originally published as Sydney man charged after allegedly stranding family overseas
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