Czech smuggling gang made victims cycle 12 miles to work, court docket informed

A smuggled migrant was saved in an unheated storage with out a roof after being dropped at the UK by a Czech smuggling gang, a court docket heard.

Zdenek Drevenak, 47, his accomplice Monika Daducova, 43, and associates Jiri Cernohous, 48 and Martin Slovjak, 46, allegedly stole the wages of 12 victims and saved them in ‘invisible handcuffs.’

The migrants, 11 Czechs and one Slovakian, had been promised a greater high quality of life within the UK, Southwark Crown Court has heard.

But the cash they earned in bakeries and automotive washes was paid into the accounts of the three male traffickers – Drevenak, Cernohous and Slovjak.

The traffickers chosen unemployed, homeless or financially disadvantaged people who had been ‘desperate’ to come back to the UK, it’s mentioned.

Zdenek Drevenak, 47, and his associates allegedly stole the wages of 12 victims and kept them in ‘invisible handcuffs

Most of the 12 men and women were made to work at Arnaouti Pitta Bread Bakery in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire

Most of the 12 men and women were made to work at Arnaouti Pitta Bread Bakery in Hoddesdon, Herts.

The alleged victims would often cycle 12 miles to get to the bakery from the property in Enfield, sometimes leaving as early as 4am and not returning until the evening.

Speaking through a Czech interpreter over a video-link, one of the alleged victims told the court Drevenak arranged for him to come to the UK to work for two years and said he would be earning £50 a week.

He said he was kept in a garage that did not have a roof for the first month before he was given a piece of canvas tarpaulin to shelter under.

‘It was raining inside. It was leaking through the roof in various places..’

The sufferer mentioned there had been a gasoline heater within the storage for the primary week, however this was taken away by Drevenak, after which there was no heating contained in the constructing.

He mentioned he was first put to work in a carwash – however was not paid something.

He mentioned: ‘I went to work in a car wash with Jiri [Cernohous] until they arranged for my working number.’

He was then moved to work at a bakery, the place he misplaced a part of a finger on his left hand whereas cleansing a machine.

The man mentioned: ‘I was cleaning out the machine and was taking out the bread that was stuck in there and the machine took my finger.’

He denied strategies from the defence that his hand harm was all the way down to his alcohol consumption.

The witness mentioned Monika Dadukova after which Drevenak took him to hospital for therapy, however he was again at work within the bakery in ‘less than a month.’

He additionally defined how he was denied wages: ‘If I earnt £300, I would get £15 plus tobacco. If I earned £400 or more, I would get £20 and tobacco.’

The man mentioned he additionally confronted bodily abuse by the hands of the traffickers.

‘If I took his beer, I would get beaten for that,’ he mentioned.

Jurors have heard smuggled migrants had their passports and id paperwork taken away and locked in a protected once they arrived on the property in Durants Road, Enfield.

The victims would typically cycle 12 miles to get to the bakery from the property in Enfield, typically leaving as early as 4am and never returning till the night

They had been additionally compelled to undertake family chores once they returned dwelling from working.

One of the victims was compelled to work as a prostitute, it was mentioned.

Drevenak, Daducova, Slovjak, and Cernohous, all of Durants Road, Enfield, deny two counts of conspiracy to carry an individual in servitude, and 12 of trafficking individuals for exploitation.

Drevenak, Daducova, and Cernohous, deny three counts of trafficking individuals for exploitation.

Drevenak denies 4 additional counts of trafficking individuals for exploitation.

Cernohous denies one additional depend of trafficking individuals for exploitation.

The prices date between January 2014 and October 2019.

The trial continues.