Police in Romania and Hungary say they have broken up a human trafficking ring that convinced vulnerable people, many from social care, to work in slave-like conditions in Budapest.
For more than a decade, smugglers have been bringing men and women from Romania to the Hungarian capital, promising them high wages in exchange for good housing.
Instead they were employed on low wages, mostly at a waste recycling plant near Budapest, according to investigation details made public on Friday.
Five men and three women have been arrested as part of the investigation, and most of them are from the same family from central Romania, police said.
More than 30 victims have been identified. They lived 25 to a room in unsanitary conditions, and were forced to work at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week, to pay a small wage.
“The criminals’ favorite victims were those from foster care centers, who were easily deceived and exploited by false promises,” according to Romanian prosecutors specializing in the fight against organized crime.
“Victims are forced, including through acts of violence, to work physically and mentally unbearable hours … and live in brutal conditions, under constant surveillance.”
They were forced to work, often outside in the cold, without proper work clothes or protective equipment, and were denied adequate food and medical care. Their documents were confiscated to prevent them from fleeing, authorities added.
Six of those arrested are from the same family in the town of Sfantu Gheorghe in Szeklerland, Romania, which is home to a large Hungarian community.
70 Hungarian police officers took part in the raid early on Tuesday, seizing documents, cars, €100,000 (£83,000) in cash and gold jewelery used by the gang.
In Romania, three homes were raided by the police in the villages of Ozun and Chilieni.
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