The 49-year-old Romanian national was detained Tuesday at a property in London where 11 other Romanian men were being held. Authorities say the operation was the culmination of a probe into a Romanian organized crime group with alleged links to human trafficking and labor exploitation.
“It is alleged that victims were forced to live in appalling conditions under the control of the group through a form of debt bondage, which meant they received very little money for work they did,” said NCA senior officer Ian Turby.
Worker abuse and exploitation is widespread across the UK economy, according to a 2018 report by the Gangmasters & Labor Abuse Authority (GLAA), which found organized crime groups to be active in the labor market and identified 17 sectors at high risk for exploitation ranging from wage theft to slavery.
Of those 17, the study found construction to be among the most vulnerable to slavery, with many alleged victims coming from Romania.
The study said most victims were in their 20s and 30s, while Romanian and British nationals were said to be the most prevalent offenders across all forms of modern slavery.
“Thousands of people are being exploited for their labor across the country,” said GLAA Director of Operations Ian Waterfield.
“Our number one priority is to protect vulnerable people from exploitation and we will continue working with our law enforcement colleagues to do all we can to eradicate modern slavery.”
As part of Tuesday’s operation, which was led by NCA officers and supported by the GLAA and the Metropolitan Police Service, investigators recovered a number of phones and documents.
