Romanians Used As Slaves On A Spanish Plantation

The six defendants were sent to court on people trafficking charges.

According to officer Nicolae Stamate, the head of the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force in Oradea, recruitment was performed by Andrei Orbai, a 24-year old man from the city of Oradea. Orbai put out ads in news papers, saying he was seeking people to pick fruits in Spain.

The three Teleorman citizens handled transportation to Spain, where the victims were taken by the heads of the network, the spouses Alexandru and Rozalia Drimba. The two lived in Zaragoza and they had contracts with several farmers in the locality, to handle the picking of oranges and tangerines.

"Since Spring 2007 and until March 2008, the group recruited, transported, lodged and exploited 34 Romanian citizens, taken to Spain under the promise that they would receive EUR50 per day with a working schedule of 07:00 to 15:00 every day," Stamate said.

According to him, the citizens were lodged in precarious conditions, without water and power, seven in a room, while the working hours were from 06.00 to 21.00, with only one 30 minute break, in which they were not even given water to drink.

The two spouses were the link to the farmers.

"The Romanian workers could not get in touch with the farmers they were working for and they were paid with very small amounts. One of the victims, who worked for about one month and a half, received EUR50 for the entire period, and was forced to run off the plantation and do odd jobs in order to return home," Stamate said.