A Napier jury has found the Samoan chief accused of human trafficking and slavery guilty on 23 out of 24 charges.
In the High Court at Napier today Joseph Auga Matamata was found guilty on all 13 charges of slavery and ten of the 11 charges of human trafficking.
The jury of six women and five men took seven and a half hours to reach its verdict.
Matamata will be remanded in custody for sentencing on May 6.
The 65-year-old Samoan national, also known as Viliamu Samu, who lives in Hastings, was arrested in December 2018 after a two-year investigation by Immigration NZ and police.
Matamata brought people from Samoa to New Zealand with the promise of a better life for their families by working and earning money in the horticulture industry.
However, once in New Zealand, Matamata did not pay them for the work completed, which often involved long hours for days on end, prosecutors contend.
During the trial multiple witnesses for the Crown said Matamata physically abused them if they did not obey his rules or tried to leave the property.
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