Forced Labor2009
Germany DE
Following more than a year-long investigation, the German Federal Police have busted an international ring involved in smuggling Sri Lankan Tamil people into European countries, with the connivance of certain French and British authorities. Police, during simultaneous raids on 37 places from early morning last Wednesday in Germany and elsewhere abroad, arrested 16 suspected German, French and British nationals of Sri Lankan origin, diplomatic sources said. According to these sources, a special team from the German Federal Police has been investigating the activity of a German-based Sri Lankan Tamils smuggling ring under cover since August 2008, on the orders of the public prosecutor in Osnabrück. Out of the 16 suspects arrested, four are from Germany and more arrests will follow, according to German Police. Among the arrested is the leader of the smuggling ring. He is a 44-year-old Tamil known among the diaspora as an ardent supporter of the LTTE,” sources added. The report also stated that the suspect was residing in a small town called Borken in the Federal State North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) where there is a large concentration of Sri Lankan Tamils domiciled in Germany. Warrants have been issued for the arrest of two more Tamils in Germany – from Rhine and Lingen.
Forced Labor2009
Canada CA
A Taiwanese woman, known in Canada by three different names, worked for a Filipino recruitment agency. She met the 11 men when they arrived in Toronto. She told them the employer had backed out of the deal (a lie) and they would have to relocate to a different job site. Together with a man pretending to be a lawyer, she confiscated their passports and visas, and they delivered the men to a business man in an abandoned farmhouse north of Toronto. The twice bankrupt "lawyer" denies he received money from the business man for delivering the 11 workers. Both the "lawyer" and the woman had previous arrest warrants in the Philippines for illegal recruitment and fraud. The man seems to have been involved in human trafficking before. A week after the Elmvale release, the business man who kept the 11 men enrolled the "lawyer" to recruit 191 workers for him, but this time the business man did not receive the legal visas (LMO's) The workers, threatened with deportation, by the man who "bought" them. Http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/Article/488074 http://canadaimmigration.typepad.com/canada_immigration/2008/09/08/index.html
Forced Labor2009
United States US
The girl told police she got involved when another minor female, who said she was being prostituted by the trafficker, told her she could make up to $100 for each man she had sex with, a police report states. One teenage girl told investigators she was given gas money to drive Trotter and another underage girl to different locations where they were paid to have sex, while yet another teenage girl told police the trafficker took her to a residence one night where she was paid to have sex with five men. One teenage girl interviewed by police denied being prostituted by the trafficker, instead, her "job" was to hand out condoms to the men to "protect the girls." The trafficker admitted introducing the girls to men who paid them for sex, but denied taking any money the girls were paid for sexual acts when she was interviewed by investigators, a police report states. The girls were threatened when they tried to stop being prostituted, and the trafficker took 1/2 of all money earned.
Forced Labor2009
Botswana BW
The little I know, I got from this article: http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=1&dir=2007/June/Tuesday12 I really just wanted to get this town put on the map, as the article discusses it as an area adjacent to farms where there is most likely to be occurrence of child labour, that is linked to child trafficking in Botswana.
Forced Labor2009
United States US
Benny and Nissan Pirian (owners of Celebrity Carwash, Five Star Carwash and Hollywood Carwash) and Manuel Rayes (owner of Vermont Hand wash) are up against a maximum of 80 years in prison, over $136,000 in fines each and 176 counts of criminal misconduct, witness intimidation, grand theft, brandishing a deadly weapon (used bat and machete after workers joined union), failure to pay wages (they often paid less than half of minimum wage), hiring minors, operating without workers' compensation insurance, denying workers meal and rest breaks, giving the works recycled water and failure to comply with wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission. Many workers also suffered numerous cuts and burns from the dangerous machinery and chemicals used in the carwashes.
Forced Labor2009
United States US
Unknown at this time as the ranch where the slavery occurred has not been located.
Forced Labor2009
United States US
Rachele Bromley was arrested in May after posting a Craigslist advertisement for erotic massage involving her 16-year-old daughter. The advertisement did not openly solicit sexual favors, but ultimately resulted in a sexual-battery-of-a-minor conviction for a 40-year-old Nampa man and former Canyon County sheriff's deputy named Aaron Hundersmarck.
Forced Labor2009
United States US
A recruiter from Million Express Manpower, a former labor contracting company out of Mount Olive, NC, lured 30 Thai men to work in Johnston County, North Carolina with a promise of earning $16,000 a year for 3 years. The recruiter charged a fee of $11,000 for each man to "secure" their job abroad. Once they arrived, the labor contractor confiscated their passports and visas. "After about a week living in a motel in Benson, they were moved to a small storage building in Dunn, behind the home of Seo Homsombath, a native of Laos who is president of Million Express." "Homsombath at first contained the men by telling them that, without passports, police would arrest them if they left the property. Later, he showed them a gun, according to both Asanok and the lawsuit. A relative or employee was always at the house to guard them, Asanok said."(Asanok is one of the Thai workers who sued Million Express) "Homsombath delivered food, but it often wasn't enough for all 30 men, Asanok said. They had no kitchen, so they cooked outside on a portable gas burner. By mid-October the farm work ran out, and Homsombath took the workers to New Orleans, the lawsuit says. They spent a few weeks in a condemned hotel, badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina, without electricity or clean water. During the day, the lawsuit says, they demolished parts of the hotel they lived in. Asanok said he spent his days tearing down walls and hauling piles of destroyed carpet out of the hotel." "The Thai workers, including Asanok, say they were never paid for their work in New Orleans. Some were so broke, the suit says, that they trapped and ate pigeons." "Thai Workers Sue North Carolina Contractor" - http://www.humantrafficking.org/updates/601 "Workers: Promise became Prison" - http://www.newsobserver.com/100/story/551923.html "Low Pay and Broken Promises Greet Guest Workers" - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/us/28labor.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Low%20Pay%20and%20Broken%20Promises%20Greet%20Guest%20Workers%20&st=cse This case is also mentioned in Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter's book, "The Slave Next Door"
Forced Labor2009
United States US
The owners of one of the state's largest fruit and vegetable farms were indicted late Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice for engaging in a conspiracy to commit forced labor and visa fraud. Alec and Mike Sou of Aloun Farms Hawaii and a thai labor recruiter were charged with human trafficking conspiracy. Aloun Farms Hawaii is the state's second-largest fruit and vegetable farm, employing an estimated 200 people. But the Justice Department says some of the company's labor practices are illegal. The Sou brothers and Thai labor recruiter William Khoo are accused of devising a scheme to hire 44 Thai nationals by enticing them to come to Hawaii with false promises of lucrative jobs. According to the indictment, they maintained their labor through threats of serious economic harm. Other workers at the farm today shared details they were aware of. "This happened about a couple of weeks ago, maybe a week and a half, had couple of immigrant cards that just expired," said Donovan Tangonan, a delivery driver for the company. "Instead of letting them get to renew them - they just detained them right there." According to the indictment, the trio organized for the Thai workers to pay high recruitment fees which were financed by debts secured with the workers' family properties and homes. The indictment also charges the defendants engaged in visa fraud conspiracy and that the Sous confiscated passports and failed to honor employment contracts. Both brothers declined to comment. Workers say they aren't aware of any other problems. "Pretty much everybody here is all legal, other than that we just had a little mishap with those two people," said Tangonan. Aloun Farms annual gross sales are estimated at $8 million. If convicted, Alec and Mike Sou each face maximum sentences of 15 years in prison and Khoo faces a maximum of 10 years. This case is being investigated by the F-B-I and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement. http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Aloun-Farm-Owners-Face-Human-Trafficking/ArIJ-vhsZ0K_KF5ohngGeQ.cspx
Forced Labor2009
Pakistan PK
"Muhammad, 68, has a large family, yet no matter how hard they toil in the scorching sun and dirt of Pakistan's Punjab province, he cannot keep up with the medical bills, food costs and other expenses. "I start work before dawn and stop when the sun disappears... only to wait for another day to make bricks I pledged to make against the loan I took," said Muhammad, who initially borrowed 200,000 rupees (2,422 dollars) two years ago. He is among perhaps several million Pakistanis under bonded labour: poor families who accept cash advances from landlords, but in return are expected to work, often for no wages, from morning till nightfall. Human beings treated like commodities, the bonded labourer can then be sold on to another employer in what activists decry as modern-day slavery." To read entire article, go to: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h1KDhC0DgpukA33WQQPLaTJFaB4A
Forced Labor2009
Gabon GA
A 15 year old girl's poor mother in Benin gave her to an aunt, but the aunt gave her to a slavemaster who took her to Libreville, Gabon and forced her to sell ice water on the streets. She was not allowed to keep any of the proceeds, and if she failed to sell enough, she was beaten with an electric cable.
Forced Labor2009
Zimbabwe ZW
The accused trafficker is the Security Defense Forces of Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe National Army has assumed control of the controversial Chiadzwa diamond fields in Manicaland. Senior army officers are said to be engaged in the illegal mining of diamonds in the area. Witnesses say the soldiers regularly conscript both children and adults as forced labour to mine diamonds illegally in the controversial Marange diamond fields. Many of those forced to work on the diamonds fields have reported being beaten up and tortured by the soldiers.
Forced Labor2009
Mexico MX
Mexico City's attorney gerneral, Miguel Angel Mancera reports that the victims ranged from 14 to 70 years old. Some were tortured, some victims also suffered sexual abuse, some had serious wounds, some even had fractures. All of the victims were suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition. Some were taken to a hospital. The captives, some of whom speak only indigenous languages and no Spanish, were locked in the building, which had bars on the windows and a fence outside, he said. They made handbags and clothespins and were not paid. Their only daily meal consisted of chicken legs and rotten vegetables, Mancera said. "The vast majority of the food we found was spoiled," he said. Video of the inside of the building showed filthy and crowded living conditions. The men and women worked 8 a.m. to midnight and were given only a half-hour food break. They were not allowed to go to the bathroom, and many soiled themselves, officials said.
Forced Labor2009
Uganda UG
From the Story in the Monitor: "Police bust human trafficking racket Andrew Bagala Kampala Six Sri Lankan nationals were last week rescued from the hands of suspected human traffickers, who were purpoting to get them jobs. Police sources, who preferred anonymity because they aren’t authorised to talk to the press on behalf of the Force, identified the six as Mr Nadarasa Jegatheeswaran, Mr Muras Abdul Mohamed, Mr Ratnam Jeevtharan Velupillal, Mr Kiritharan Suntharalingam, Mr Rajathuran Makesvaran and Mr Sebastian Christopher. They were rescued from an unfinished building in Ngombe ‘B’ Zone, Makindye Ssabagabo Sub-county. “They have been living in a terrible situation because they didn’t even have beds, they were sleeping on mats,” a CID source said yesterday. The two suspected traffickers, who are on the run, are believed to be of Asian origin. But investigations reveal that they were collaborating with some Ugandans to execute their plans. This is the fourth time in two years the Police have rescued victims of Asian origin from traffickers in the country."
Forced Labor2009
Sudan SD
Arab-Dinka Peace Committees assisted by an Organization called CSI intervened on their behalf. They were transported by truck to Southern Sudan by the Government of Sudan's Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children (CEAWC). They were delivered to registration centers at Gok Machar and Warawar. Futher information: http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=1462
Forced Labor2009
Botswana BW
The Sunday Standard turned up information that the company Zheng Ming, which operated a sweatshop in Ramotswa, was part of an international trade in modern day slavery. Industrial Court Judge, Elijah Legwaila, would later rule that “it appears that Chinese nationals pay large sums of money to recruitment agencies who send them abroad with all sorts of promises...by the time such people land at any destination they have neither the money nor the bargaining power to protect their rights."
Forced Labor2009
United States US
7 farms and 17 farmers were charged http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/us-department-of-labor-uncovers,921927.shtml
Forced Labor2009
Rwanda RW
A 36 year old female resident of a suburb of Kigali was arrested while trying to smuggle five children into Uganda without travel documents. She was trying to take them into Uganda through the DR Congo. She was a member of the same church as the children, and met them there. The trafficker will be prosecuted in court.
Forced Labor2009
Botswana BW
The little I know, I got from this article: http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=1&aid=1&dir=2007/June/Tuesday12 I really just wanted to get this town put on the map, as the article discusses it as an area adjacent to farms where there is most likely to be occurrence of child labour, that is linked to child trafficking in Botswana.
Forced Labor2009
United States US
A 28-year-old St. Paul man, Byronte Juwann Reed (also known as Santana) pleaded guilty in federal court in St. Paul to transporting a girl from Minnesota to Illinois for the purpose of committing commercial sex acts. In his plea agreement, Reed admitted meeting the victim, who was younger than 18, in June of 2008 and recruiting her to commit sexual acts in exchange for money. From June of 2008 through July of 2008, the girl lived with Reed and others so she could participate in the commercial sex trade. In addition, Reed admitted transporting the girl from Minneapolis to Chicago, Illinois, in order for her to engage in commercial sex. Reed also admitted that physical force was used to ensure that the victim would participate in the sexual activity.
Forced Labor2009
Thailand TH
In October, police in Thailand, as well as human rights activists in Mahachai, raided two of the brokers houses, rescuing 18 detained fishermen. Many other men were found locked up in cabins on a ship. These men were forced work on fishing boats for many months without pay–many of them were forbidden to even go onto shore. Some were even killed, or thrown overboard, if they questioned authority. Most of the victims were ethnic Mon, from eastern Burma. Many of the 51 men were from the Irrawaddy delta, Pegu, Mon State and Tenassirm Division. Authorities have arrested several of the traffickers, however many of them escaped. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17331
Forced Labor2009
Ghana GH
as a result of the investagation 54 child slaves, 7 different nationalities, ages varied from 11- 16 and worked 12 hour days with no pay or education.
Forced Labor2008
United States US
The workers were trafficked by the Company Audubon Pointe, a New Orleans apartment complex affected by Katrina. Audubon Pointe housed the non documented workers in their unfinished apartments while they renovated other apartments. The workers were frequently unpaid or paid very late. When the workers complained, management threatened to evict them and call the police. These threats forced the workers to continue work without pay.
Forced Labor2008
United Kingdom GB
Complaints by seven workers in Angus led to the investigation. In Angus and elsewhere, investigators found more than 15 breaches of regulation in such as areas as transportation, accommodation and minimum wage requirements against Polish workers who were employed picking daffodils. After this investigation, Timberland Recruitment Ltd had their license revoked by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), a UK agency which "regulates those who supply labour or use workers to provide services in agriculture, forestry, horticulture, shellfish gathering and food processing and packaging." (http://www.gla.gov.uk/index.asp?id=42) Among other things, the GLA found a letter to the workers stating that they may not leave before the end of the contract without paying a fine to the company, and including threats to their families at home should they not pay, that workers had had deductions from their wages for transportation, housing, and the use of the company's water-proof clothing in bad weather, that workers were regularly receiving below minimum wage, and that they lived in sub-standard, cramped conditions which exhibited fire and health hazards.