Man Charged in Australia for Alleged Exit Trafficking Plot Involving Children

A 37-year-old Pakistani man residing in Melbourne has been charged with allegedly attempting to traffic a woman and her two young children out of Australia. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) launched an investigation on June 10 after receiving a report from a concerned member of the public.

Authorities allege the man threatened the woman to compel her to travel to Pakistan with her children. Police intercepted the group at Melbourne Airport before their planned departure. During a search of a residence in Glenroy, a Melbourne suburb, officers seized a mobile phone, laptop, and other documents that are currently undergoing forensic analysis.

The man faces one count of organizing the proposed exit of another person from Australia using coercion, threats, or deception, and obtaining compliance. He appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday. This offense carries a maximum penalty of 12 years imprisonment.

Exit trafficking, a form of human trafficking, involves the use of coercion, threats, deception, or force to transport a person out of a country against their will. AFP Detective Superintendent Ray Imbriano described it as an insidious and often underreported offense.

"The AFP will not tolerate attempts to force, threaten or manipulate people into leaving Australia against their will," Imbriano stated. "In this matter, we allege a vulnerable woman and her young children were at risk of being removed from Australia against their will. However, thanks to timely information and swift action by investigators and community partners, authorities were able to intervene before the alleged trafficking could occur."

Imbriano urged anyone who believes they or someone they know may be experiencing human trafficking to come forward, emphasizing that "Every report helps us safeguard vulnerable people and hold offenders accountable."

This case follows a separate incident in Sydney where a man was charged with allegedly trafficking his wife to Pakistan under the guise of a holiday, withholding her passport and identification documents, and preventing her return to Australia.