Latest news with #LukeNeedham
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
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. 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. 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. 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.
7NEWS
2 days ago
- 7NEWS
Sydney man charged after allegedly tricking family on overseas trip, leaving wife and one-year-old stranded in Pakistan
A husband has been charged after allegedly abandoning his wife and young child overseas, leaving them stranded far from home. The 45-year-old man from southwest Sydney faced court on Wednesday accused of taking his family on a trip to Pakistan in August last year before returning to Australia alone. It is alleged he deceived his wife into travelling with their one-year-old baby, then took the child's passport and left them at the airport. He allegedly retained possession of the child's passport, making it difficult for the child — an Australian citizen — to return home. The wife was eventually able to return in February and reported the matter to police. A search warrant was executed at a home on Wednesday, with officers seizing electronic devices and documents. The man has since been charged with two counts of trafficking a person from Australia using deception and one count of using someone's identity online. The trafficking charges each carry a maximum penalty of 12 years in jail if convicted, while the identity offence carries up to five years if convicted. AFP Detective Acting Superintendent Luke Needham said the case is being treated as a potential 'exit trafficking' offence. '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,' 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.'
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Perth Now
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.
West Australian
2 days ago
- West Australian
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.
Herald Sun
3 days ago
- Herald Sun
Sydney man charged after allegedly stranding family overseas
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News. 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
