Slavery charges against a wealthy couple who run a popular chain of cheesecake shops have been dropped on the eve of their trial.
Abid Maghfoor Shah and his wife Aeisha Julia Shah had pleaded not guilty to trafficking their Pakistani cousin and enslaving him for two and a half years.
Mr Shah, then 59, and Ms Shah, 48, were arrested in November 2021 at their $4 million home on Denham Court in Sydney's western suburbs.
The Shahs, who own the group The Cake Merchant, were accused of promising their cousin a better life in Australia and then threatening him with deportation if he did not work hard enough.
Abid Maghfoor Shah and his wife Aeisha Julia Shah (above) were accused of trafficking their Pakistani cousin and enslaving him for two and a half years. All charges have been dropped
According to court documents, police alleged Shah brought the man – believed to be in his 20s – to Australia between February 2014 and September 2015 for the purpose of exploitation.
They further alleged that Mr and Mrs Shah, who operate five patisseries, had taken the man's passport and denied him access to a bank account.
Detectives raided The Cake Merchant stores in Liverpool, Campbelltown and Bonnyrigg before seizing three mobile phones and financial documents during a search of the Shahs' home.
Mr Shah was originally charged with running a business involving servitude between September 2015 and February 2018.
Ms Shah was charged between August 2015 and October 2017 with running a business involving servitude.
The cousin had lived with the couple at their estate in Denham Court, which has seven bedrooms, a swimming pool and a tennis court.
Mr Shah, then 59, and Ms Shah, 48, were arrested in November 2021 at their $4 million home on Denham Court in Sydney's western suburbs. Mr Shah is pictured under arrest.
The Shahs, who ran their business as Sweet Incentive Pty Ltd, were granted bail on the day of their arrest and forced to surrender their passports.
They were not allowed to contact anyone outside Australia, were not allowed to come within 100 meters of an international departure point and were not allowed to have a telephone with internet access unless it was used for work purposes.
Their arrest came after the Australian Federal Police received a report from the Fair Work Ombudsman in March 2018 alleging an employee had been assaulted at one of The Cake Merchant's stores.
Police alleged that the couple tapped their cousin's phone calls, kept him isolated from the community, made him work excessive hours and failed to pay him properly.
The Shahs were in and out of court for nearly two years when new charges were added, which were later dropped.
Detectives raided The Cake Merchant stores in Liverpool, Campbelltown and Bonnyrigg before seizing three mobile phones and financial documents during a search of the Shahs' home
Mr Shah faced two charges of operating a business involving servitude to another person, and one charge of aggravated deception of a person in relation to entry and seizure of documents.
Ms Shah faced two charges of operating a business involving the servitude of another person. In July last year, one charge of servitude was dropped against each of the shahs.
The Shahs pleaded not guilty and the trial was due to take place in November this year, but on September 29 the remaining three charges were dropped at the district court at the insistence of the Crown.
The Commonwealth DPP was unable to provide information on why the charges were dropped.
“I confirm that the CDPP has discontinued proceedings in accordance with Commonwealth prosecution policy,” a spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.