Seven people trafficked to Ireland from Latvia for work were forced to scour public bins in search of food, having been treated like “slaves” by the people who brought them here, a court has heard.
Details of the squalid conditions faced by the victims were outlined at a sentencing hearing at Letterkenny Circuit Court in Co Donegal of two men from eastern Europe.
Georgijs Poniza (37) and Armen Pogosyan (30) had each pleaded guilty to a total of 17 charges, including seven apiece of trafficking.
This is the first conviction of its kind in the Republic of Ireland for human trafficking on the basis of labour exploitation.
Poniza and Pogosyan, each with an address at Assaroe Falls, Ballyshannon, will be sentenced next month by Judge John Aylmer after the complex case was outlined over the course of two days.
The accused men sat either side of an interpreter in the dock, while some victims in the case were also aided by an interpreter in the body of the court.
Gda Det Paddy Kelly told how the victims were initially recruited by deception in Latvia.
The victims lived in a rural house in Rossnowlagh or in an apartment in Ballyshannon. The conditions were described as being “sub-standard”, with the accommodation not heated and having no bedding.
During the period of offending, between December 2020 and October 2023, there was a total loss of earnings to the victims of approximately €120,000.
A male in Latvia – who is subject to criminal proceedings in that country – promised them employment with a good salary, good housing and no bills.
The court heard that the seven victims in the case were all susceptible to being trafficked due to their circumstances at the time.
The two accused men entered into an arrangement where they would supply workers to two companies in south Donegal. There is no criminality suggested against the companies, which co-operated fully with the investigation.
The victims in the case cannot be identified, with section 11 of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 having been cited by counsel.
One of the victims said he was treated “worse than a workhorse … I felt that I had no rights”, and was regularly assaulted.
Another man recalled how he ran away one morning at 4am. “I was so happy that I left them and their slavery,” he said.
“They tortured us. I was fed up with it. The right way would have been to fight back, but not everyone was able. They were too afraid.”
A third man said the conditions in Donegal were “like prison”. He said he made several attempts to escape, but was caught each time and assaulted upon his return.
Another said he was treated “like a worthless piece of s**t”, while a woman told how she was threatened, bullied and controlled at all times. At one stage the accused men made her sign a “debt bond”, and she paid €100 a week until a total of €2,100 was paid over.
The court heard that a complainant presented himself to Store Street Garda station in Dublin in April 2022.
He reported that he had been trafficked from Latvia and subjected to labour exploitation. In all, seven complainants came forward to make statements to gardaí.
Pogosyan and Poniza have been in custody since their arrest in October 2023.
Significant documentary evidence, including passports, payslips, Revenue documents and fraudulent documents in victims’ names were seized, as well as fuel cards and debit cards in the names of some victims.
The case was put back by Judge Aylmer to June 9th.