More than 30 victims have been identified. They lived 25 to a room in unsanitary conditions and were forced to work at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week for meager pay.
“The criminals’ favorite victims were people from foster families, who were easy to persuade and use with false promises,” said Romanian prosecutors specializing in the fight against organized crime.
“Victims were forced, including through acts of violence, to work hours that were physically and psychologically unbearable … and to live in inhumane conditions, under constant surveillance.”
They were forced to work, often outside, in the cold, without appropriate work clothes and protective equipment, they were denied proper food and medical care. The authorities added that their documents were taken from them to prevent them from fleeing.
Six of those arrested are from the same family in the town of Sfantu Gheorghe in Szeklerland, Romania, which has a large Hungarian community.
Seventy Hungarian police officers took part in raids on Tuesday, seizing documents, vehicles, €100,000 (£83,000) in cash and gold jewelery used by the gang.
In Romania, the police searched three houses in the villages of Ozun and Chilieni.
