News Centre

This is a joint media release between the Australian Federal Police and Department of Home Affairs

Editor’s note: Images of the operation are available via Hightail

The AFP has removed seven potential victims from sexual exploitation in Australia following an investigation that has resulted in a Sydney man being charged with allegedly trafficking a child from Indonesia.

The Arncliffe man, 43, is expected to appear in the Downing Centre Court today (23 July, 2024) after a complex AFP-led investigation in Australia and Indonesia.

The man has been charged with one count of trafficking in children, contrary to section 271.4 (1) of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth), which carries a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment.

The AFP will allege the man is the principal of an organised crime syndicate that profited from human trafficking and worked with an Indonesian-based recruiter to find victims to send to Australia.

It will be alleged he facilitated the transportation of a 17-year-old from Indonesia to Sydney to engage in sex work.

The man was arrested at his Arncliffe home in July 2024 after a 20-month joint investigation called Operation Mirani between the AFP, Department of Home Affairs and Indonesian National Police (INP).

The investigation began in December 2022, following the AFP receiving intelligence alleging foreign nationals were arriving in Australian and being forced into sexual servitude in breach of their visa conditions.

Investigators identified the Arncliffe man as the alleged on-shore facilitator for multiple women who had arrived in Australia and subsequently engaged in sex work.

The AFP’s international network assisted the INP identify a woman in Jakarta, Indonesia, who was allegedly helping recruit women to travel to Australia.

In March 2024, the AFP executed search warrants at properties in the Sydney suburbs of Arncliffe and Banksia, during which a number of foreign nationals were identified and assessed as potential victims of human trafficking.

The AFP also seized travel documents, identity material and electronic devices, which were subject to further forensic examination.

Members of the INP, with the assistance of the AFP’s Jakarta Post, executed a concurrent search warrant at the home of the Indonesian woman suspected of being a recruiter for the criminal group.

The INP found multiple passports of other women who had already been recruited and were due to travel to Australia. If these women had arrived in Australia, they would have been at risk of exploitation.

The INP subsequently arrested and charged the Jakarta woman with human trafficking offences, contrary to article four of the ‘Indonesian Law on the Eradication of the Criminal Act of Trafficking in Persons’, 2007. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 17 years’ imprisonment.

In May 2024, the AFP and ABF executed further search warrants at three brothels across Sydney, locating a further nine women alleged to be engaged in sex work in violation of their visa conditions.

A subsequent review of the seized materials identified another six women overseas who were scheduled to be entry trafficked into Australia for potential servitude. Operation Mirani prevented their departure from Indonesia.

Other evidence obtained during the search warrants allegedly linked an additional Sydney woman, 35, to the criminal enterprise. It will be alleged the woman fraudulently enrolled students at an education provider in Sydney to prolong the victims’ stay in Australia, during which time they were further exploited to work in the sex industry instead of attending their enrolled courses.

On 19 June, 2024, the ABF executed a Migration Act search warrant after the woman’s visa was cancelled by the Minister of Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. She was detained and conveyed to Villawood Detention Centre as an unlawful non-citizen.

On 10 July 2024, the AFP arrested the alleged Australian ringleader at his Arncliffe home and charged him with one count of trafficking in children, contrary to section 271.4 of the Criminal Code (Cth). The maximum penalty for this offence is 25 years’ imprisonment.

Inquiries into the syndicate remain ongoing and additional criminal charges are being considered.

AFP Commander Kate Ferry said organised crime syndicates sought to exploit any opportunity to make money, without regard to the misery they cause others.

“The AFP is committed to protecting vulnerable people from the tentacles of organised crime, and this challenging 20-month investigation is testament to the resolve of our people,” Commander Ferry said.

“Human trafficking investigators work tirelessly to help victims struggling through atrocious situations and to ensure they are removed from harmful situations, and their alleged abusers face the full extent of the law in Australia.

“We understand it can be incredibly difficult for vulnerable victims to come forward, and we want to assure them that there is help and protection available.

“While we know organised criminals do traffic illicit drugs, they also traffic human beings to make money, so it is vitally important the AFP and our partners ensure we dismantle these groups and being them before the courts.

“The cooperation shown overseas through our international network and the support of the Indonesian National Police highlights the commitment of law enforcement agencies to tackling this matter.”

ABF Acting Superintendent Mark Jenkins said the government took human trafficking allegations very seriously and Operation Inglenook demonstrated that those associated with human trafficking would be brought to account.

“We are dedicated to identifying criminals who seek to exploit our visa programs and visa holders who are victims of trafficking or modern slavery practices within the sex industry,” Acting Superintendent Jenkins said.

“Home Affairs continues to focus efforts on identifying and disrupting key facilitators of foreign nationals in the sex industry, by targeting high risk migration agents (both registered and un-registered) as well as lawyers and education providers.

“Operation Inglenook is a whole-of-government operation running since November 2022 to target criminal syndicates who exploit vulnerable foreign workers.”

INP Director of General Crimes, Brigadier General Djuhandhani said the results of Operation Mirani were an example of the ongoing cooperation between the AFP and INP to combat transnational crime.

Foreign workers and temporary visa holders should not be afraid to seek help if they believe they are being exploited while in Australia. If you suspect that you or another person is experiencing, or at risk of, forced labour, or someone you know is being exploited, help is available. Call 131 AFP (237) or report via the AFP website.

If you have immediate concerns for your safety, the safety of another person, or there is an emergency, dial Triple Zero (000).

If you or someone you know is exploited at work in Australia, visit the Work Right Hub for more information and support.

Anti-Slavery Australia can provide free legal and migration services to people who have experienced, or are at risk of, forced labour in Australia.

The Support for Trafficked People Program is a key component of Australia's response to support victims of human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices. If you or someone you know is being exploited, help is available. For information and confidential advice please contact Australian Red Cross. Call 1800 113 015 or visit the Red Cross website.

As part of the AFP's commitment to combatting human trafficking and slavery offences in Australia, the AFP is using technology as a tool to counter these crimes and has developed a training and awareness program called "Look-a-Little-Deeper" to help state and territory police and other Commonwealth agencies recognise signs of human trafficking and slavery type offences in the community.

The program is estimated to have reached more than 140,000 members of state, territory and Commonwealth agencies over the past four years.

Forced labour indicators

The below can be indicators of human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices, which are comprehensively criminalised under Divisions 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code 1995 (Cth):

• Workers live in places unsuitable for living, such as in agricultural or industrial buildings or in overcrowded or unsafe accommodation.
• Lack of protective work equipment.
• No access to earnings or savings.
• No labour contract.
• Forced to work excessively long hours.
• No choice of accommodation.
• Never leave work premises without being escorted by their employer.
• Unable to move freely.
• Disciplined through fines.
• Subjected to insults, abuse, threats or violence.
• Employer doesn't provide basic training.
• Information is provided in languages other than the local language around the workplace.
• No health and safety notices.
• Employer or manager being unable to show the documents required for employing workers from other countries.
• Employer or manager being unable to show records of wages paid to workers.
• Health and safety equipment being of poor quality or missing.
• Work equipment being designed or modified so that it can be operated by children.
• Evidence that labour laws are being breached.
• Evidence that workers must pay for tools or that costs for food or accommodation are being unlawfully deducted from their wages.

No one single indicator on its own is evidence of modern slavery practices. Each case needs to be considered in its entirety. If you have concerns, call 131 AFP (237) or report via the AFP website.