Confiscation order against trafficker

A CONFISCATION order against a man found guilty of human trafficking is set to be resolved early next year.

Shamsul Arefin is currently serving a prison sentence after being found guilty of eight offences under the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc) Act 2004 in Fort William Sheriff Court in July 2015.

Among the charges, Arefin, who was the owner and operator of a hotel, was found to have arranged or facilitated the arrival of four men into the UK with ‘intent to exploit’ them.

The offences occurred between November 2008 and May 2010 at the Stewart Hotel, Duror, and elsewhere in the UK and Bangladesh.

On July 24, 2015, Arefin who was 41 and married with a young child, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. According to the court judgements, the sheriff took into consideration a delay which had occurred since the crime took place but also the fact that the exploitation involved obtaining almost £70,000 from the complainers and a requirement that they work for something in the region of £100 per week.

Further, the fact that Arefin’s previous convictions include an assault upon his wife from 2007 and two sexual assaults upon hotel employees, who had come from abroad, in 2013, was also said to have some bearing on his punishment.

An appeal was lodged by Arefin on March 16, 2016, which was refused.

Arefin’s case called at Fort William Sheriff Court on Monday November 7 where a confiscation order for the proceeds of crime was discussed. It was heard that Arefin’s date of release is the ‘end of December or beginning of January’ and that Arefin should appear in court on February 1 and on March 29, 2017, when matters are to be resolved.