22 complaints filed against a Moroccan family for human trafficking

Twenty-two victims, of Moroccan origin, filed a complaint against the members of a family also Moroccan who lives in Cambès in Gironde. The complainants accuse the latter of having made them work with unfair and uncertain remuneration and of having housed them in unsanitary places even though they had immigrated to France with “the promise of a good salary, housing and papers to bring their families”reveals the Bordeaux public prosecutor’s office in a press release.

The investigation, carried out by the research brigade of the Bouliac gendarmerie, revealed that the victims had to pay 12,000 euros to benefit from this “family reunification”. But once received at Bordeaux-Mérignac airport, the victims were taken to Lot-et-Garonne where they had to work. If they refused, three thugs – identified as the three brothers of the two main suspects – then threatened the victims to attack their family remaining in Morocco.

“Deprived of any work authorization in France, threatened and mistreated, the victims appeared very psychologically and physically affected”notes the public prosecutor. Their five alleged executioners were arrested on December 10. They must appear before the Bordeaux Criminal Court on February 10 to be judged on charges of “trafficking in human beings”, “concealed work” and “employment of a foreign employee without a work authorization”. The couple, who deny the facts, were placed in pre-trial detention. Their three acolytes, who for their part confessed, are placed under judicial supervision.