A Nigerian-Australian woman allegedly trafficked students from Papua New Guinea to work on Queensland farms by luring them with fake scholarships.
Australian Federal Police on Wednesday arrested the dual-citizen, 56-year-old Binta Abubakar, after she landed at Brisbane Airport from PNG, where she was primarily based.
AFP began investigating the woman in July 2022 after its Northern Command Human Trafficking Team received a tip from Queensland Police.
In a statement, AFP said it was told ‘a group of PNG nationals who had moved to Australia to study were instead allegedly forced to work against their will on farms’.
Abubakar allegedly tricked 15 students to come to Australia by promising them full educational scholarships though her company, BIN Educational Services and Consulting, between March 2021 and July 2023.
Her website promised customers a ‘holistic and modern approach to education, training and employment’.
However, shortly after they arrived in Australia, the PNG nationals – aged between 19 and 35 – were allegedly forced to sign a series of legal documents.
Police allege those included an agreement to repay ‘unmentioned costs associated with tuition, airfares, visa applications, insurance and legal fees’.
Binta Abubakar (pictured) is accused of trafficking 15 students from Papua New Guinea to work on Australian farms
AFP officers arrested Abubakar (left) on Wednesday and she was released on conditional bail
‘These unexpected costs placed the PNG nationals in excessive debt,’ AFP allege.
In order to pay off their loan, the PNG nationals were allegedly forced to work on farms across Queensland, at times against the rules of their visa.
It’s understood those properties included fruit farms in the Lockyer Valley and Stanthorpe where they worked 10 hours a day, seven days a week.
The farmers did not know of Abubakar’s alleged scheme.
If they refused to comply, Abubakar allegedly threatened to have the students deported or intimidated their family in PNG.
Abubakar would allegedly receive the wages on the workers’ behalf and withhold them to pay off their remaining ‘debt’.
She was charged with 31 offences and was granted conditional bail to reappear before the same court on September 19.
Those offences included four counts of trafficking in persons, 14 counts of deceptive recruiting for labour or services, and 13 counts of engaging in conduct that caused a person to enter into debt bondage.
Police alleged Abubakar (pictured with officers at Brisbane Airport) trapped the students in debt bondage and forced them to repay her by working 10-hour days on fruit farms
AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer said the AFP is committed to protecting vulnerable foreign workers who are ‘targeted by those driven by greed and profits’.
‘Victims of debt bondage and other human trafficking offences can be lured to Australia with a promise of a dream career or free education, things they may not have access to in their country of origin,’ he said.
‘If the conditions of that promise change, it can leave victims in an extremely vulnerable situation in a foreign country, where they are likely to have little financial or emotional support, and face issues with language barriers.
‘The AFP can help people who are exploited and is focused on ensuring the welfare of victims.’
Police urged anyone aware of foreign workers being exploited in Australia to contact authorities.
