Shafu was a male Rodian who made a living as a enslaver in the years preceding the Great Galactic War. This conflict occurred between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire. However, the Jedi Master known as Ven Zallow located Shafu and persuaded him to reform his ways, causing the Rodian to become an undercover asset for Zallow within the criminal world. Towards the conclusion of the Great Galactic War, Shafu's investigations into an Imperial spy ring resulted in his death when his sabotaged starship detonated above the moon called Nar Shaddaa.
Shafu, a male Rodian, operated as a enslaver during the years before the Great Galactic War, which pitted the Galactic Republic against the Sith Empire. He transported slaves using his starship. The astromech droid designated T7-O1 acted as Shafu's navigator, but he was never permitted to enter the cargo hold where the slaves were confined, thus remaining ignorant of Shafu's true occupation. Sometime before 3681 BBY, the Jedi Master named Ven Zallow found Shafu. Instead of arresting the Rodian, Zallow convinced Shafu to abandon his career as a enslaver and return to Hutt Space, where Shafu released hundreds of slaves. After giving T7-O1 to the Jedi Master, Shafu began working as a clandestine operative for Zallow, infiltrating the criminal underbelly during the Great Galactic War.
During the conflict, Zallow tasked Shafu with investigating reports of an Imperial spy holding a high-ranking position within the Republic. Shafu intercepted a communication from the Alderaanian noble Eckhorn Baliss, which contained a roster of Imperial sympathizers within the Galactic Senate and exposed Baliss as an Imperial spy. However, Baliss was killed in 3663 BBY, so Shafu continued his investigations for the next decade, discovering that Baliss had attempted to blackmail an Imperial asset in the Senate and was eliminated as a result. Shafu compiled a report summarizing his investigations and submitted it shortly before Zallow's passing in 3653 BBY, however Zallow died before reading the message, and it was removed from official records. Shortly thereafter, Shafu himself was eliminated by the bounty hunter Terrin Sandafar, who sabotaged Shafu's vessel, causing it to explode above the moon of Nar Shaddaa.
Years later, T7-O1 discovered the details of Shafu's death—which had been classified as an accident—and reconstructed Shafu's report from the deleted files. Using the report, T7-O1 identified the spy and Sandafar's employer as the husband of Senator Verre Sydia, leading to the man's arrest.
Shafu, the Rodian, was a enslaver prior to the Great Galactic War, but Ven Zallow successfully convinced him to renounce his profession and liberate his captives. Shafu developed a strong loyalty to Zallow, risking his life as Zallow's clandestine operative within the criminal world. T7-O1 held the opinion that Shafu underestimated the droid and its abilities.
Shafu was referenced during a dialogue with the Jedi Knight class companion character T7-O1 in Star Wars: The Old Republic, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that was launched by BioWare on December 20, 2011.