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A woman trafficked from Indonesia into underage sex work in Australia has shared her ongoing trauma as two men await sentencing for the “planned and sophisticated” scheme.
By day, Surya Subekti worked as a manager at Coles and doughnut store Krispy Kreme. By night, he was a key player in an international sex-trafficking ring which lured vulnerable women and girls from Indonesian slums to work in Sydney brothels.
The 45-year-old from Bayside in Sydney’s south travelled to Indonesia and worked with local contacts to arrange fake visa documents and bring a 17-year-old girl to Australia. The documents falsely reported she was the daughter of an older woman whom she travelled to Australia with. Subekti guided the girl and her pretend mother to pass immigration smoothly.
During the teenager’s 53 days in the country, Subekti controlled her movements and made her perform 10-12 hours of sex work, seven days a week. He said he would withhold her income until she returned to Indonesia.
Another syndicate member, 32-year-old bus driver Elton Valentino, was paid an annual salary of $50,000 to take the girl to three brothels almost daily.
In a victim impact statement read out on behalf of the woman at Downing Centre District Court on Friday, she described being happy and healthy before she came to Australia, having never experienced trauma, fear or anxiety.
Syndicate members had introduced her to a man named “Batman”, who offered her work in Australia. Hoping for financial independence and a promising future, she overcame fears of language barriers and culture-shock and accepted the offer.
Upon landing, she was taken into sex work. She needed permission to leave the brothels and could not do so alone.
“I always had someone following my movements. I felt as though I was being monitored and controlled all the time,” she said.
“I worked long hours, and the type of work was a shock to my body”.
The woman described the horrific moment she experienced blood loss and debilitating cramps for a month. When it became so severe she struggled walking, she was hospitalised and diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection.
First, she was told her wages would be withheld for a month. Then she learned she would not get paid while she was in the country. She “accepted” this as she did not understand local laws.
One brothel was raided while she was there, something she described as “frightening … chaotic and stressful”. She began experiencing panic attacks and emotional instability. Now, she said, “the tiniest things” evoked anger or sadness.
“It is now difficult for me to trust other people, as I am fearful my experiences will be repeated,” she said.
“I can no longer feel what it is like to be happy. I feel that all the hopes that I once held have been destroyed”.
Subekti and Valentino were arrested under Operation Mirani, an AFP-led investigation formed in December 2022 in response to intelligence alleging foreign nationals were arriving in Australia and being forced into sexual servitude.
In July 2024, Subekti became the first Australian charged under Mirani.
The Crown submitted Subekti executed a planned and sophisticated scheme aimed at exploitation.
Defence lawyers argued his moral culpability was lowered because the girl was already a sex worker in Indonesia and had signed a contract before departing. However, prosecutors countered that as a child, she was legally unable to consent.
Judge Nicole Noman expressed credibility issues with a psychology report detailing Subekti’s mental health diagnoses including generalised anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. The court heard he was a problem gambler, though supporting evidence was limited. His sister gave tearful evidence about his family being blindsided by his double life.
Prosecutors conceded Valentino’s financial gain was modest compared to Subekti’s, but noted he was well aware of the harmful work as he would act as a liaison for the girl’s “problem clients”. While the defence argued that he should be given credit for acting somewhat “protectively”, the Crown rebutted that he only behaved this way after exposing her to the risks.
Subekti pleaded guilty to organising the entry of a child to provide sex services and causing a person to enter or remain in forced labour. Valentino admitted to transporting a child with intent to provide sex services.
In a statement released upon Subekti’s arrest, AFP Detective Acting Inspector Emmanuel Tsardoulias said that organised crime syndicates “will exploit any opportunity for profit, including trafficking human beings”.
“We understand it can be incredibly difficult for vulnerable victims to come forward, and we want to assure them that there is help and protection available.”
The pair will be sentenced this week.
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