Fijian man jailed in New Zealand's first people trafficking conviction

A Fijian man who became New Zealand's first convicted people trafficker has been jailed for nine and a half years, immigration officials said Thursday.

Faroz Ali, also known as Feroz Ali, a Fijian national with New Zealand residence, was found guilty in September of 15 human trafficking charges involving Fijian nationals, said a statement from the government's Immigration New Zealand agency.

He was also convicted of 15 charges of aiding and abetting a person to unlawfully enter New Zealand and one charge of aiding and abetting a person to remain unlawfully in New Zealand.

Ali had earlier pleaded guilty to 26 charges of helping people breach their visa conditions and exploiting them by not paying them the minimum wage and holiday pay.

The High Court in Auckland had earlier heard that the Fijians were enticed to work in New Zealand after answering advertisements placed in Fijian newspapers by Ali's Fiji-based wife and sister-in-law.

They were charged large sums of money, but when they arrived in New Zealand they were forced to work illegally for long hours, live in cramped conditions and paid little, if anything.

The Fijians either worked for Ali's plaster board fixing business in Auckland or were sent to the eastern North Island city of Tauranga to work in the horticulture business in an arrangement organized by Ali and his wife.

"Justice Heath commented that people trafficking is an abhorrent crime which degrades human dignity. This sentence is hugely significant and should act as a huge deterrent for people smugglers," Immigration New Zealand assistant general manager Peter Devoy said in the statement.

"Some of the victims borrowed large sums of money to take up the opportunity to come here and now remain heavily indebted, while others used up their life savings to come to New Zealand. I hope today's sentences give them some degree of comfort."

All the Fijian nationals had returned home. Endit