Slavery ring busted

Police last week made three arrests in connection with the infamous Italian "work camps." Łukasz Z., described as the head of a slavery ring, and two unnamed women were taken into custody on charges of human trafficking. These are the latest arrests connected with the sordid affair which first made headlines in July.

"Łukasz Z. was 'number one' on the list of people wanted in this case," said Dariusz Nowak, spokesman of the police in Małopolskie voivodship.

The traffickers' modus operandi was simple. They took out advertisements in local press publications which read, "Work in Italy," and included phone number. Callers were offered work on Italian plantations, harvesting vegetables or olives. They were offered EUR 5 per hour and accommodation with all the necessary facilities. The prospective workers had only to cover the cost of travel, a few hundred złotys.

The reality they faced, however, was far from that which was advertised, and many of those who were actually met by someone in Italy were sent to work camps.

When the police raided these camps this summer, they found people living in wretched conditions in converted farm buildings or tents, without running water and often without beds. They were forced to work over 15 hours a day, paid a daily wage of EUR 2-5 and kept under constant surveillance. The workers who resisted and tried to escape were threatened and beaten, while some women were raped and forced into prostitution. There is evidence that some workers were murdered.

Over 110 Poles were rescued from the work camps and several dozen people arrested, including Italian farmers, Polish recruiters and Ukrainian guards. However, around 70 Poles remain among the missing and may have been killed.