A woman named Abubakar is facing serious charges in Australia for allegedly exploiting students from Papua New Guinea (PNG). Authorities claim she threatened these students with deportation or intimidated their families back home if they didn't comply with her demands.
It's further alleged that Abubakar would collect the students' wages herself and then withhold their earnings. If they pushed back, she reportedly used threats of immigration action or family intimidation in PNG to ensure compliance.
Abubakar has been hit with 31 charges, including four counts of trafficking in persons, 14 counts of deceptive recruiting for labor or services, and 13 counts of engaging in conduct that caused a person to enter into debt bondage.
She's currently out on conditional bail and is scheduled to be back in court on September 19.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have strongly condemned these alleged actions. Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer stated that the AFP is dedicated to protecting vulnerable foreign workers who are targeted by those motivated by greed. He explained that victims of debt bondage and human trafficking are often lured to Australia with promises of amazing careers or free education—opportunities they might not have in their home countries. However, if those promised conditions change, it can leave them incredibly vulnerable in a foreign country, often without financial or emotional support and facing language barriers.
