Binta Abubakar, a 56 year old Nigerian woman, has been taken into custody by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for trafficking students from Papua New Guinea to Australia.
AFP Detective Superintendent (SP), Adrian Telfer confirmed that Abubakar was arrested on Wednesday June 11 at the Brisbane airport, Australia.
Telfer revealed that the culprit trafficked 15 people aged 19 -35 from Papua New Guinea into Australia by luring them with false promises of educational scholarships, only to exploit them for unpaid labor on farms throughout Queensland.
He mentioned that this arrest is the culmination of a two-year investigation by the Australian Federal Police’s (AFP) Northern Command Human Trafficking Team.
The probe began in July 2022 after Queensland Police provided a tip off.
Between March 2021 and July 2023, she used her company identified as ‘BIN Educational Services and Consulting,’ to offer them fraudulent full educational scholarships.
Upon their arrival in Australia, the students were compelled to sign various legal documents, which committed them to repaying unspecified costs associated with tuition, airfares, visa applications, insurance, and legal fees.
To clear these alleged debts, they were forced into labor on fruit farms in Queensland, specifically in areas like Lockyer Valley and Stanthorpe, a situation that often violated their visa conditions.
Telfer further stated that the students were made to work 10 hours a day and seven days a week as Abubakar seized and retained their wages so as to offset the supposed debt, while the farmers employing them were unaware of Abubakar’s scheme.
If a students resisted or didn’t comply, Abubakar would threaten them with deportation by reporting them to immigration authorities.
Additionally, she’s accused of intimidating their families in Papua New Guinea.
He also noted that she would typically collect the students’ wages herself and then withhold them.
Abubakar is facing 31 charges, including four counts of human trafficking, 14 counts of deceptive recruiting for labor or services, and 13 counts of causing a person to enter into debt bondage.
She’s been released on conditional bail and is scheduled to reappear in court on Friday riday september 19.
Telfer further explained that individuals trapped in debt bondage and other forms of human trafficking are often enticed to Australia by the prospect of a promising career or free education, opportunities they might not have in their home countries.
He finally reassured the public of the AFP’s commitment to victim welfare and urged anyone who suspects exploitation of foreign workers to report it.
He stated, “The AFP can help people who are exploited. We are focused on ensuring the welfare of victims.”
This incident occurs less than two months after German authorities, specifically in the western part of the country, apprehended 13 suspected members of a Nigerian mafia group.
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