A family gang of traffickers has sent people with physical or mental disabilities and the homeless to Austria and Germany to beg. The gang acted particularly violently and abused extremely vulnerable people for their purposes. Two of their victims even died during the exploitation.
Four suspects were arrested on Wednesday by European law enforcement agencies Europol and Eurojust, one of them in Austria. The other three arrests were made in Germany, Hungary and Romania. There were seven searches – one each in Austria and Hungary, two in Germany and three in Romania.
One victim was a house slave
The detectives in the countries have been tracking the gang since 2017. They found their victims in Romania and Hungary and smuggled them to Austria and Germany, where they forced them to beg. There were a total of eleven victims, who, according to Europol, earned about 200,000 euros from the perpetrators. One victim had to do the housework and was treated like a house slave, according to Europol.
False job promises
According to Europol, the family ties often took advantage of their victims’ homelessness in connection with alcohol addiction. With false job promises, they were lured into dependency and shipped to Austria and Germany. They were housed in accommodation without sanitation and running water and had to surrender all documents and cash reserves. They were given only alcohol and little food, such as a sandwich a day, as food.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
