Workers Lured to Sweden – Received No Pay or Food: 'Ate Dog Food'

On March 3, a verdict was handed down in a case described as unique and expected to set a precedent. A group of men were subjected to human trafficking and labor exploitation. One of them was so hungry he ate dog food. A 35-year-old man of Polish background has been sentenced to prison.

The case involved three Polish men who were lured to Sweden with promises of work and free accommodation—promises the 35-year-old never intended to keep. The men were housed in an unheated attic infested with mice, where winter temperatures sometimes dropped below ten degrees Celsius.

One of the men was considered particularly vulnerable as he had been homeless in Poland and, upon arrival in Sweden, was immediately stripped of his ID and kept isolated at a property in Skurup. According to reports, he was also subjected to violence by the now-convicted man.

— One of the men practically received no pay at all. For a period, his access to food was so limited that he ate apples from the garden and dog food, says Judge Håkan Olaussen.

The other two men were driven to different construction sites where they worked long hours handling asbestos and faced health risks. These two did receive pay, but only about 25-30 percent of what had previously been promised.

The situation persisted for six months.

Precedent Setting

— It is very unusual for cases involving labor-related human trafficking to even lead to prosecution, says Linda Erhorn, regional coordinator against human trafficking at the border police unit in the South Region, to TT.

— It is unique. The ruling will serve as guidance for what is required for a conviction.

The Malmö District Court sentenced the man, who himself has an immigrant background from Poland, for human trafficking and labor exploitation to two years and ten months in prison, as well as damages totaling just over 900,000 kronor to the three victims.

The man has previously been convicted of a long list of crimes, including aggravated fraud, assault, receiving stolen goods, and unlawful deprivation of liberty.

Two men who were charged with aiding and abetting the 35-year-old’s crimes were acquitted, as the court determined that it could not be proven they had any detailed knowledge of the Polish men’s working and living conditions. However, one man was convicted of money laundering and received a suspended sentence, while the other was convicted on several counts of money laundering and aggravated business money laundering, receiving a prison sentence of one year and three months.