Eight suspects have been arrested during a Eurojust supported operation against a human trafficking ring in Hungary and Romania. The criminals recruited people from Romania and forced them to work in poor conditions and without freedom of movement in a paper factory in Hungary.
The network started its illegal activities in 2013. Its targets were recruited from Romania to work in a paper factory in Hungary. They were promised a job with eight-hour workdays for five to six days a week a salary paid in Hungarian forints and accommodation and meals.
After arriving in Hungary, the actual working conditions were much worse than promised. The victims’ documents were confiscated, depriving them of their freedom of movement. The criminals placed the victims under constant surveillance, took away their phones and withheld their salaries. Work in the paper factory was carried out in poor conditions in an isolated location, with victims working between 12 and 24 hours a day. Several of the victims were also forced to do domestic work at the criminals’ properties in Budapest. Seeking help or returning to Romania was made impossible for them.
The victims were primarily recruited from the foster care system, especially people with no family support and limited financial resources. This lack of support reduced the likelihood that family members could influence them to abandon their work in Hungary. The criminals took advantage of their victims’ plight to convince them to work in the paper factory, using them only to make significant illegal profits for themselves.
Investigations were launched by the Hungarian and Romanian authorities to take down the trafficking operation. Due to the international scale of the operation, a joint investigation team (JIT) was set up at Eurojust. The JIT enabled the authorities to share information and carry out joint operations against the network.
An operation to take down the criminal network by the Hungarian and Romanian authorities coordinated by Eurojust took place on 12 November. The authorities worked together in Hungary to identify 20 possible victims of human trafficking and seize over EUR 100 000, jewelry, cars, documents, pistols and other evidence. Eight suspects were arrested, all members of the human trafficking ring, and several properties were placed under sequestration.
The following authorities were involved in the actions:
- Hungary: Chief Prosecution Office of the Capital in Budapest; National Bureau of Investigation, Transnational Crime Department, Trafficking in Human Beings Unit
- Romania: Prosecution Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice, Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism – Covasna Territorial Office; Romanian Police – Brașov Organized Crime Brigade; Covasna County Police Inspectorate; Covasna County Gendarme Inspectorat