A Nigerian-Australian woman, Binta Abubakar, has been arrested by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for allegedly trafficking 15 students from Papua New Guinea (PNG) and forcing them into exploitative labour on farms in Queensland, under the guise of offering them educational scholarships.
Abubakar, 56, was apprehended on Wednesday at Brisbane Airport upon her arrival from PNG, where she had been operating for years. Her arrest follows a two-year investigation by the AFP’s Northern Command Human Trafficking Team, which began probing her activities in July 2022 after a tip-off from the Queensland Police.
According to the AFP, the accused used her company, BIN Educational Services and Consulting, to lure vulnerable young PNG nationals—aged between 19 and 35—to Australia between March 2021 and July 2023. She allegedly promised them full educational scholarships but instead subjected them to forced labour.
Her company’s website advertised a “holistic and modern approach to education, training, and employment,” but police say this was a façade. Upon arrival in Australia, the students were allegedly coerced into signing documents that locked them into debt for fabricated expenses, including tuition, airfare, visa fees, insurance, and legal costs.
To repay these debts, the students were forced to work long hours—up to 10 hours daily, seven days a week—on fruit farms across Queensland, including Lockyer Valley and Stanthorpe. The AFP stated that the farms involved were unaware of the alleged human trafficking scheme.
Investigators say Abubakar collected the victims’ wages directly and withheld the payments under the pretense of settling their debt. Those who resisted were reportedly threatened with deportation or had their families in PNG intimidated.
“She would allegedly receive the wages on the workers’ behalf and withhold them,” the AFP said in a statement. “If they refused to comply, Abubakar allegedly threatened to have the students deported or intimidate their family in PNG.”
Abubakar now faces 31 charges, including:
4 counts of trafficking in persons
14 counts of deceptive recruiting for labour or services
13 counts of conduct resulting in debt bondage
She was granted conditional bail and is scheduled to appear in court again on September 19.
AFP Detective Superintendent Adrian Telfer strongly condemned the alleged crimes, describing them as a "gross exploitation of vulnerable individuals driven by greed and profit."
“Victims of debt bondage and human trafficking are often lured to Australia with promises of education or a dream job,” Telfer said. “When these promises turn into coercion and exploitation, the victims are left isolated in a foreign country with little support and no way out.”
He encouraged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities involving foreign workers.
“The AFP is committed to protecting vulnerable individuals. We want the public to know we can help, and that victim welfare is our top priority,” Telfer added.
This arrest comes just weeks after authorities in western Germany apprehended 13 suspected members of a Nigerian mafia group, highlighting the ongoing global crackdown on transnational trafficking networks.
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