Two people have been charged with multiple counts of human trafficking after allegedly holding foreign women “in debt bondage” and confiscating their passports to work at a massage parlor.
A 32-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman allegedly took the passport of a 41-year-old woman in October 2023 when they forced her to work as a masseuse.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers also accuse the couple of duping the woman out of “unreasonable” expenses that she had to reimburse and falsifying the woman’s visa application, Perth Magistrates Court heard on Friday.
The couple had previously been charged in May with holding another worker, aged 36, in debt bondage after allegedly taking that woman’s passport in 2021.
That alleged victim was also forced to work in the massage business.
The couple are also alleged to have provided false details of visa applications relating to two other women, as well as a third foreign national and four who did not arrive in Australia, according to a report by Nine news saying.
AFP Detective Superintendent Peter Chwal said police will allege the pair exploited vulnerable foreign workers and evaded immigration laws.
“Some victims may find their working conditions preferable to those in their home country, even when the conditions are extremely exploitative,” Chwal said.
A man and a woman have been charged with trafficking foreign women into Australia (file image)
The couple are accused of falsifying visa applications to bring in foreign nationals whom they force to work in a massage parlour after confiscating their passports and putting them into “debt bondage” (file image)
‘All workers in Australia have the right to a minimum wage and certain conditions.
‘The AFP and partner agencies can assist people who are being exploited and focus on protecting the safety and well-being of victims.’
The couple was charged with multiple offenses, including causing a person to enter into debt bondage, two counts of possession of a foreign travel document and nine counts of delivering multiple documents containing false information.
This is the first time the AFP has brought debt bondage charges in Western Australia.