60 Guilty Verdicts for Four People Traffickers
30 May 2024
Four people traffickers, who brought vulnerable people from eastern Europe to London and forced them to work long hours while stealing their wages, have been convicted of modern slavery offences following a 16 week trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Zdenek Drevenak, 37, his former partner Monika Daducova, 43, Jiri Cernohous, 49, and Martin Slovjak, 46, all from the Czech Republic, acted together to lure 12 men and women to the UK on the promise of well-paid jobs and a better quality of life.
The victims were selected from poor or rural backgrounds, many of whom had experienced homelessness or addiction, with a view to being exploited.
The accommodation ranged from cramped room sharing, or even bed sharing, inside the house, to demeaning and miserable conditions in a shed in the garden.
Victims also saw their passports and identity documents taken and retained in a safe, which they had no access to. Several were subjected to violence by Mr Drevenak.
With no money to find other accommodation in the UK, and fear of what the gang might do if they tried to escape, their options to leave or return home were severely limited.
Benjamin Temple, leading Fiona Ryan, appeared for the Crown. There were a total of 60 unanimous guilty verdicts returned.
