Owners of failed business face trafficking charges

A Bangladeshi couple who are New Zealand citizens have been charged with human trafficking, exploitation and other immigrationrelated charges. Mohammed Atiqul Islam and his wife, Nafisa Ahmed, will appear in the Auckland District Court on Monday for a trial that is expected to last three weeks. They previously owned Royal Indian Sweets and Cafe in Sandringham, which was founded in 2014 and went into liquidation in 2017. Islam faces additional charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Trafficking in persons is punishable under the Crimes Act with imprisonment for up to 20 years, a fine of $500,000, or both. The business’s liquidators reported that its owners had insufficient assets to pay their debts when it folded. They were left with an estimated deficit of $318,000.