In Germany, there were supposed to be jobs, but they were forced to take out loans and commit crimes. The gang brutally exploited the homeless. One of them escaped, got to Poland and notified the services. The police organized an ambush that caught a Romanian couple acting in an organized group.
The gang exploited people in the most difficult situations. Criminals tempted homeless people with trips to Germany. There may be dozens of injured.
– They were kept in terrible social conditions, in addition to being locked up. They forced these people to do forced labor, forced them to beg, and also forced them to commit various types of crimes – reported Sabina Chyra-Giereś from the Provincial Police Headquarters in Katowice.
They chose their victims from telephone books. Their tentacles reached far beyond the border. Police busted a gang of “phone callers”Jarosław Kostkowski/Fakty TVN
“Perpetrators prey on someone's helplessness”
Victims had to take out loans and rent cars, which were then taken over by criminals. The police were on the trail of the gang after one of the homeless people escaped, got to Poland and notified his social worker. The police organized an ambush.
– This pair of Romanian citizens was detained by Silesian policemen in Częstochowa right after they came from Germany to Poland to recruit more people – says Comm. Sabina Chyra-Giereś.
A 48-year-old woman and a 36-year-old man operated in an organized group. Thanks to cooperation with the German police, two homeless people were safely brought back to the country.
– Perpetrators prey on someone's helplessness, they prey on someone's dreams, they also prey on the fact that people are in a bad life situation. They want to change their lives and they use it in a cruel and perfidious way – emphasizes Joanna Garnier from the Foundation Against Trafficking in Human Beings and Slavery “La Strada”.
According to statistics, approximately 100 people fall victim to this practice in Poland every year. – These criminal groups have the ability to search for people who simply will not be reported – points out Dariusz Nowak, a former policeman.
Participation in human trafficking is punishable by 20 years in prison.
Main photo source: Silesian Police