A human trafficking ring made up mostly of gang-members from the same family was recently broken up by law enforcement in Romania and Hungary. The BBC reports that traffickers were keeping teenaged men and women in “slave-like” conditions at a site in Budapest. 

It’s a family affair 

Making false promises of good housing and high salaries a group of five men and three women lured more than 30 teenaged victims, into modern slavery. The traffickers were mostly from the same family and had been transporting victims from Romania to Hungary for over a decade. According to the police, many of the teens were particularly vulnerable as they had just left social care.

The Romanian prosecutors who specialize in fighting organized crime said: 

“The perpetrators’ favorite victims were those coming from foster care centers, who were easily persuaded and exploited by false promises,” 

Once under the trafficker’s “employ” teen victims were forced to work at a waste-recycling plant. Tellingly, when police busted the ring, they found victims living 25 to a room in unhygienic conditions. Law enforcement also seized documents, vehicles, and €100,000 in cash and gold jewelry belonging to the trafficking gang.  

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