A Merrylands man has been sentenced to over two years’ imprisonment for deceptively convincing his wife to leave Australia and taking steps to prevent her return, marking the third conviction for exit trafficking in the country.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigation began in February 2018 after a 35-year-old Afghani woman living in Australia on a partner visa reported being deceived by her husband into travelling to Afghanistan.
The court heard that the man, an Australian citizen, persuaded his wife to accompany him under the false pretext of undertaking charity work in Afghanistan in January 2018.
AFP Detective Acting Sergeant Sarah Manning highlighted the seriousness of exit trafficking, noting that it often involves coercion, force, or threats to compel someone to leave Australia against their will.
“Exit trafficking is an insidious offence that is often underreported despite it being a criminal offence in Australia,” she said.
“No one has the right to ‘cancel’ another person’s visa, including the visa sponsor. This type of behaviour is a Commonwealth offence and carries a potential 12-year jail term. We commend the bravery of the victim for coming forward and trusting our officers with the investigation.”
The 44-year-old man booked a return flight for himself but only a one-way ticket for his wife, fabricating a false itinerary under her name to suggest they would return together on 13 February 2018. The couple left Australia on 27 January 2018, but the man returned alone on 1 February 2018. The following day, he wrote to the Department of Home Affairs, seeking to withdraw his sponsorship of his wife’s visa.
The woman, with the help of her relatives, managed to return to Australia on 5 February 2018. AFP officers executed a search warrant at the man’s Merrylands home on 27 March 2018, leading to his subsequent arrest and charge.
On 13 October 2023, the man pleaded guilty to one count of facilitating the exit of a person from Australia by using deception, contrary to section 271.2(1A) of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth). He was sentenced on 21 June 2024 by the District Court of New South Wales to two years and one month imprisonment, with 12 months to be served in custody and the remainder on a two-year good behaviour order.
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