Trafficking charges as man accused of stranding family
A man accused of deceptively convincing his wife and child to travel to Pakistan with him before ditching them at the airport is set to face court on human trafficking charges.
The 45-year-old southwest Sydney man allegedly travelled with the family members in August 2024 before cancelling his wife's Australian visa and retaining his child's passport, police say.
He then came back to Australia that same month.
The wife subsequently returned to Australia in February and reported the matter to authorities, who helped the one-year-old child also return.
The man was arrested at a home in Austral in southwest Sydney, on Wednesday and charged with human trafficking offences.
He faces two counts of trafficking a person by using deception, and a single count of dealing with identification information involving the use of a carriage service.
The maximum penalty for the trafficking offence is a 12-year jail sentence.
The man was set to face the Liverpool Local Court on Thursday.
Federal police urged anyone who had been through something similar to contact authorities.
"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," Detective Acting Superintendent Luke Needham said.
"(Federal police) will not hesitate to act when we have evidence of criminal actions.
"Exit trafficking offences quite often occur within family units or in situations where close relationships have disintegrated.
"There is a concern these types of offences are under-reported in Australia."
In September, a different man was hit with similar charges, accused of convincing his wife and children to fly to Pakistan with him under the guise of seeing family, before returning to Australia with their passports and visas.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
9 News
4 hours ago
- 9 News
Woman charged for allegedly luring people to Australia from Papua New Guinea
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Australian Federal Police (AFP) have charged a woman over what's described as a "disturbing" human trafficking operation between Queensland and Papua New Guinea . They claim victims were promised fake scholarships then forced to work as fruit pickers, accommodated in shipping containers and alarmingly, transported in car boots. Authorities say Binta Abubakar left Australia two years ago but when she returned to Brisbane International Airport yesterday, AFP officers were waiting. A Queensland woman has been charged over an alleged human trafficking operation targeting people from Papua New Guinea. (9News) "Police will allege the woman lured Papua New Guinea nationals to Australia with the promise of fully funded scholarships," Adria Elfer from the AFP said. Abubakar is described as the CEO of BIN Educational Services and Consulting on its website. The business acted as an agent for Central Queensland University until 2023 and lists a rundown Victorian property as its office address. Abubakar, a dual Australian and Nigerian citizen, is accused of exploiting fifteen victims, as young as 19 years old, over a two-year period. Authorities say Binta Abubakar left Australia two years ago but when she returned to Brisbane International Airport yesterday, AFP officers were waiting. (9News) "When those persons arrived into Australia, they were instead forced to work on farms to pay off debts that they had not previously been told about," Telfer claimed. Fruit picking in the Moreton Bay and Lockyer Valley regions for up to 70 hours a week, as she allegedly pocketed their wages, unbeknownst to the farmers employing them. "Some of them at times were living in fairly oppressive conditions, some in the boot of a car," Telfer claims. The 56-year-old (in white) is facing 31 charges and if convicted could spend up to 12 years behind bars. (9News) The 56-year-old is facing 31 charges and if convicted could spend up to 12 years behind bars. She appeared in court yesterday, and was granted bail. Police believe there may be more victims, and they're appealing for them to come forward. Australia queensland trafficking police Brisbane papua new guinea CONTACT US
Sydney Morning Herald
6 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How Juanita Nielsen sparked reforms that transformed city landscapes
Iconic Australian anti-development activist Juanita Nielsen left behind far more than a deeply disturbing whodunnit mystery when she disappeared, presumed murdered, 50 years ago, next month. Her death also sparked a huge range of planning and policy changes that transformed the landscapes of our cities, and are now back under the spotlight, a new book to be released on Saturday argues. Some say the reforms that sprang from the urban warfare that erupted on Sydney's streets between developers and conservationists in the 1970s over plans for high-density housing in the city's east helped precipitate today's current national housing crisis; others argue they need to be further strengthened to protect our cities. 'I don't think there's any doubt that Juanita Nielsen's death made the environment for developing land much tougher for many years, if not decades,' said Mark Skelsey, author of Views To Die For: Murder, Anarchy and the Battle for Sydney's Future. 'It initiated popular movies, plays and books which cast developers as villains and which really had a long-term influence on housing and development levels. 'She was also a strong advocate for public participation in planning decisions which increased people's influence and put heritage protection on the agenda, which both have the power to inhibit development. And she campaigned too for affordable housing and for developers to retain portions of projects for affordable housing, which still rings true today.' Loading Skelsey, a communications consultant and former NSW Department of Planning staffer, was determined to take a fresh look at Nielsen's activism through the prism of housing planning, rather than about the circumstances of her death. While he charts her role as a publisher of the newspaper NOW, campaigning against developers' plans to demolish the historic terraces on Kings Cross's Victoria Street for high-rise towers of luxury apartments – which eventually led to her death – he looks closely at her legacy.
The Age
6 hours ago
- The Age
How Juanita Nielsen sparked reforms that transformed city landscapes
Iconic Australian anti-development activist Juanita Nielsen left behind far more than a deeply disturbing whodunnit mystery when she disappeared, presumed murdered, 50 years ago, next month. Her death also sparked a huge range of planning and policy changes that transformed the landscapes of our cities, and are now back under the spotlight, a new book to be released on Saturday argues. Some say the reforms that sprang from the urban warfare that erupted on Sydney's streets between developers and conservationists in the 1970s over plans for high-density housing in the city's east helped precipitate today's current national housing crisis; others argue they need to be further strengthened to protect our cities. 'I don't think there's any doubt that Juanita Nielsen's death made the environment for developing land much tougher for many years, if not decades,' said Mark Skelsey, author of Views To Die For: Murder, Anarchy and the Battle for Sydney's Future. 'It initiated popular movies, plays and books which cast developers as villains and which really had a long-term influence on housing and development levels. 'She was also a strong advocate for public participation in planning decisions which increased people's influence and put heritage protection on the agenda, which both have the power to inhibit development. And she campaigned too for affordable housing and for developers to retain portions of projects for affordable housing, which still rings true today.' Loading Skelsey, a communications consultant and former NSW Department of Planning staffer, was determined to take a fresh look at Nielsen's activism through the prism of housing planning, rather than about the circumstances of her death. While he charts her role as a publisher of the newspaper NOW, campaigning against developers' plans to demolish the historic terraces on Kings Cross's Victoria Street for high-rise towers of luxury apartments – which eventually led to her death – he looks closely at her legacy.
