A man has pleaded guilty to exploiting a Romanian worker at a chicken processing factory in North Wales.
Nelu Nechita, 52, admitted to committing a modern slavery offence by bringing a “vulnerable worker” from Romania to work at the factory and keeping his wages, according to the Gangmasters & Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).
He pleaded guilty at Bolton Crown Court last week.
The GLAA initially arrested Nechita during an operation with the Greater Manchester Police and the Department for Work & Pensions in February 2019.
Investigations by the GLAA revealed he offered to find the victim work in the UK and paid for his travel from Romania.
He then transported the victim – along with other workers – to and from the site from his home address in Oldham during the six weeks the Romanian national worked at the factory.
Read more: Two arrested over modern slavery suspicions on West Sussex farm
He took control of the victim’s payment card and PIN to cash his wages, the GLAA said. The victim received more than £1,800 in wages to his account for those six weeks of work, but Nechita only gave him £280.
The victim, a Romanian man in his 40s, has been supported by the GLAA throughout the case.
“The victim left Romania with the promise of a job and better life in the UK but instead was ruthlessly exploited by Nechita for his own financial gain,” said GLAA senior investigating officer Martin Plimmer.
“The only money the victim ever had was totally controlled by Nechita and as a result he was trapped in unfamiliar surroundings with no obvious way of escaping. Sadly this method of exploitation is not uncommon.”
The defendant will be sentenced at the same court on 26 June.
No comments yet