Eleven members of a traveller family have been convicted following a series of trials for modern slavery offences.<\/p>\n
The 10 men and one woman ran a driveway resurfacing company which used workers housed in caravans without running water or toilet facilities.<\/p>\n
Their victims worked long hours to fund what police said was a “lavish lifestyle”. One had worked for the family for 26 years.<\/p>\n
The defendants will be sentenced in September.<\/p>\n
Police began operations against members of the Rooney family in September 2014, when seven warrants were executed in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and London.<\/p>\n
A number of victims were found during the raids or were later traced and the UK Human Trafficking Centre concluded 18 men had been illegally trafficked to the sites.<\/p>\n
Ch Supt Nikki Mayo said Lincolnshire Police was aware “through intelligence” the workers at two travellers sites were being kept in poor conditions and worked for little money.<\/p>\n
“The extent of these conditions soon became apparent – the victims were accommodated in caravans without running water or access to toilet facilities,” she said.<\/p>\n
The victims were all described as vulnerable adults, aged between 18 and 63, who were often homeless and had been picked up by the defendants from across the UK.<\/p>\n
Ch Supt Mayo said: “They were being completely exploited – working long hours on driveways and block paving for the family.<\/p>\n
“They were not given training for the manual labour and although not physically trapped, they were financially, emotionally and physically abused making any escape seem impossible.<\/p>\n
“This exploitation was illegally funding a lavish lifestyle for the defendants.<\/p>\n
“While their ‘labourers’ were suffering, company profits helped to fund luxurious holidays to Barbados, Australia, Egypt and Mexico, the purchase of high performance BMWs, spa days and even cosmetic surgery.”<\/p>\n
She said the victims had become completely institutionalised and were only fed when they worked and at times that was restricted to the family’s leftovers.<\/p>\n
The investigation also found around \u00a3100,000 worth of stolen goods and that some members of the family had targeted elderly homeowners, getting them to sign over properties into their names.<\/p>\n
A total of four trials relating to the 11 defendants took place between November 2016 and August 2017. Ten of the 11 were released on bail ahead of the sentencing.<\/p>\n
Those convicted:<\/strong><\/p>\n Two others, Eileen Rooney, 32, of Drinsey Nook, Sheffield Road, Saxilby and Nora Rooney, 31, of the same address, were both acquitted.<\/p>\n Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n