46‑year‑old Faroz Ali has been found guilty of 15 people trafficking charges and 15 charges for aiding and abetting a person to unlawfully enter New Zealand.
Ali who was the mastermind behind an elaborate human trafficking scam that enticed and exploited Fijian workers in New Zealand was convicted after a three week trial in Auckland's High Court.
More than a dozen Fijian nationals were lured to New Zealand under false promises of high wages but were forced to work for little or no money.
At the beginning of the trial, Ali, a Fijian national with New Zealand residency, pleaded guilty to 26 charges of helping people breach their visa conditions and not paying his employees the minimum wage.
The 15 Fijian workers who fell victim to the scam were lured to New Zealand on the promise of $900 per week picking fruit.
The court heard that Ali's wife and sister in law both lived in Suva, running travel agencies in the capital and advertising New Zealand working holiday schemes.
The advertisements promised approved applicants the chance to work in New Zealand for wages of $17 NZ per hour.
They were also promised working visas and accommodation.
When the Fijians arrived in New Zealand throughout 2014 and 2015, they found the work was different to what they had expected.
The workers were paid little, if they were paid at all and were housed in crowded conditions which they were made to pay for.
The working visas they were promised were non-existent and the workers were given visitors' visas which had no provisions for work.
The maximum penalty for a human trafficking conviction is a prison sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine, or both.
Source: nzherald.co.nz
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