Dozens of children and adults from Romania were turned into slaves and exploited for more than ten years on the territory of Hungary, by an organized human trafficking network, also made up of Romanians who tricked their victims with the promise of a job abroad.
Five men and a woman from Ozun and Chilieni, Covasna County, were detained by the Hungarian authorities, along with another man who operated exclusively on Hungarian territory.
On November 12, 2024, DIICOT prosecutors conducted three house searches in Ozun and Chilieni, Covasna County, on members of the group. The investigations revealed that, starting in 2013, five men and a woman from the same family formed an organized criminal group in order to obtain material benefits from the exploitation of several victims, children and adults, through labor on Hungarian territory.
“The members of the organized crime group recruited vulnerable people, with difficult financial situations and without stable family relationships, in order to avoid the risk of being sought by relatives. Thus, the perpetrators’ favorite victims were those from placement centers, who, through false promises, namely a salary of 80,000-100,000 forints per month, accommodation and meals, a work schedule of 8 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week in a Hungarian company, were easy to convince and exploit,” DIICOT states in a statement.
The victims were taken to Hungary by two spouses, who, after arriving at their destination, under the pretext of employment formalities, took their identity documents in order to limit their freedom of movement. Subsequently, they were housed either in an unsuitable building, together with 20-25 other people, in a wooden shack, without furniture, or in the basement of a house, from where they were transported to a household waste processing factory located in another locality and forced to work, according to investigators.
According to DIICOT, the victims were forced, including through violence, to have a work schedule “at the limit of physical and mental endurance”, namely “between 12, 18 hours and even 24 hours, 7 days a week” and an “inhuman lifestyle”, being permanently supervised during work.
The exploited Romanians also faced the lack of food and minimal housing conditions, the refusal to provide them with medical assistance and the obligation to perform household work after the work schedule.
“The sums of money resulting from the criminal activity were almost entirely appropriated by the members of the organized criminal group. Given that the recruitment of the victims and their transportation were carried out both on the territory of Romania and that of the Republic of Hungary, at the end of November 2023, in order to document and prove the entire criminal activity, the Joint Investigation Team Agreement between DIICOT and the Budapest General Prosecutor’s Office was concluded, under the auspices of Eurojust, the investigation in Hungary being led by the National Bureau of Investigation, the Transnational Crime Department, the Unit for Combating Trafficking in Persons in terms of committing the crimes of human trafficking and forced labor. Concurrently with the action carried out in Covasna County, 5 search warrants were implemented on the territory of Hungary, activities in which police officers from the Covasna Organized Crime Combating Service also participated”, DIICOT further reveals.
The same source states that following the actions carried out in the two countries, the amounts of 49,150,000 forints, 5,990 euros, approximately 350 grams of jewelry, two cars, documents, two pistols, as well as other evidence were identified and seized.
Also, during the searches carried out in Hungary, over 20 other people were identified, possibly victims of human trafficking. On November 12, 2024, the Hungarian authorities ordered the detention of members of the organized crime group, and another defendant who acted exclusively on Hungarian territory was also detained.