A Middle Eastern man has been granted bail after allegedly impersonating his wife and cancelling her Australian visa while she was in Egypt visiting relatives.
Karim Mehelmi, 44, was arrested in the Sydney suburb of Ryde on Wednesday and charged with exit trafficking and pretending to be another person for the purposes of committing an offence.
He faced bail court from custody on Thursday, where Judge Daniel Covington released him with conditions requiring him to hand over his Australian and Egyptian passports, not go near international points of departure, and give police the passwords to his electronic devices, Australian Associated Press reported.
The judge told Mehelmi he was being granted bail as he had no criminal history and his charges “will take a long time to progress through the court”, but warned him that if he did not comply with the conditions he would be returned to custody.
Police allege Mehelmi began the visa cancellation process before his wife left on her trip, and then cancelled her return flight while she was overseas.
Mehelmi allegedly gained unauthorised access to the woman’s online accounts, changed the login details to lock her out, and impersonated her in order to cancel her visa.
He faces up to 12 years’ jail, and will appear in court again in December.
Australian Federal Police Detective acting Superintendent Morag McGowan said exit trafficking often went underreported.
“No one has the right to deceive anyone to leave Australia against their will. This type of behaviour is a criminal offence and carries a potential 12-year jail sentence,” she said.
“The sad reality is this does occur in modern Australia, which is why educating the public on the indicators is crucial.
“Potential indicators someone is being exit trafficked include travelling without a passport in their possession, not having a return ticket or phone, and not being able to provide their contact details on bookings.”
According to police data released late last year, reports of exit trafficking more than doubled to over the 2024-25 financial year.
Header image: Mehelmi being arrested (AFP).
