Men to be sentenced for human trafficking, laundering

Two men from Eastern Europe will be sentenced at Letterkenny Circuit Criminal Court next month arising out of a large-scale investigation into people trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation and money laundering in the north west.

Georgijs Poniza, aged 37, from Latvia and 30-year-old Armen Pogosyan from Uzbekistan of Armenian nationality pleaded guilty at Letterkenny Circuit Criminal Court to human trafficking, money laundering and forgery offences.

One female and six male victims recruited by deception in Latvia were promised a €350 weekly salary, accommodation, no bills and "a better life".

What transpired was very different. One victim said he was "treated like a slave and an animal", while another said "it was like a slave trade".

The victims, aged from the 40s to 60s suffered loss of earnings reported of approximately €120,000, when financial numbers provided in court were calculated.

The prosecution was led by Patricia McLaughlin SC, with Fiona Crawford BL, instructed by State Solicitor Kieran Dillon.

Ms McLaughlin SC said the case represented the first conviction of its type in the country of human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation.

'I felt like a prisoner'

One victim attempted to escape four or five times, but was caught and beaten each time, suffering bodily bruises to prevent visible bruising, the court heard.

"I felt like… a prisoner because they would not let us go anywhere," one victim's impact statement said.

The court heard that it would appear the criminality began in December 2020 and continued until October 2023.

Ms McLaughlin said the first victim presented at Store Street Garda Station in Dublin on 25 April 2022, alleging he was trafficked from Lativia for labour exploitation.

Six other victims came forward. All victims were susceptible to being trafficked, the court heard. They had little or no English.

The victims were not aware they were going to Donegal before arriving at Dublin Airport.

They were provided with substandard accommodation, controlled and rented by the defendants in Rossnowlagh and Ballyshannon, the court heard.

Some victims were not provided with bedding, had to sleep on mattresses on a floor and had to allocate some of their minimal pay for bedding.

People were like 'fish in a can'

One victim said people were like "fish in a can" in the property and added that the accused dictated the victims’ movements as they seldom left the accommodation due to a language barrier and a lack of transport, the court heard.

Gardaí noted food was limited during a property search in October 2023. The court heard of an instance where one victim walked 5km for food which was labelled for the bin at a commercial premises.

One victim said he "felt like he was treated like a slave and an animal".

Both Georgijs Poniza and Armen Pogosyan were due to stand trial last year. It was adjourned after a jury was empanelled. Both defendants later pleaded guilty.

The court heard that victims were given oversized footwear, inappropriate clothing and often transported to locations in the west, north west and Northern Ireland to work at one business.

Subsequently, the victims began employment at a separate business in south Donegal and were transported by the defendants to and from work.

Some victims finished work at 4am and others began at 8am. Often they were expected to wait four hours for transport. The court heard they often slept on the workplace floor.

Detective Garda Patrick Kelly of Donegal Town Garda Station said the victims never received payslips and that their PPS numbers were controlled by the accused.

He said victims were not aware that emergency tax had been paid on their wages and outlined how the accused-maintained control of victims’ wages using shell companies.

When the employer in south Donegal ceased employment, the accused sought employment for the victims at another business in Sligo, who did not uptake the offer.

The court heard both businesses co-operated with the investigation. A statement from the second business said that in the past staff shortages were filled by agency staff.

One victim labelled the accused as 'slave owners'

One victim labelled the accused as "slave owners", and added that threats of violence were issued when they disobeyed orders.

The court heard that the victims saw the accused interact, often in a friendly manner with local gardaí, thus perceiving that there was a friendly relationship between them.

They felt that the defendants had tarnished their reputation with gardaí who portrayed them as alcoholics.

Given the language barrier, the Latvian victims did not understand the conversations and felt they could not approach local gardaí about their situation.

One victim, who attempted to escape was penalised for drinking, deducted money after travelling to Dublin and could not book flights home as he had no bank account.

He was assisted by the Latvian Embassy, however, he was threatened by Georgijs Poniza on the phone and returned on the promise that things would be better.

After he arrived at Dublin Airport, he was repeatedly assaulted in the back of a car on his journey to the north west. His passport was taken and used to set up a company.

The court heard he planned to leave alongside another victim on 4 June 2022. He lived on the streets, indicating it "was better than the situation they were in".

Another victim first came to attention of gardaí when he was admitted to St James Hospital in Dublin after he had health issues.

The female victim said she was threatened and made sign a debt bond after securing independent employment.

"I believed they picked people to work for them who would not answer back, who could not speak English, drug addicts and alcohol addicts. They did not believe we would change," she said.

Another victim said he never received full wages and alluded to violence against other victims while others gave evidence of cards and accounts opened in their names.

One victim said he worked nights, was not allowed to rest during the day and assaulted when he threatened to leave. "I was like a slave. I could not speak English," he said.

He described the treatment as something that resembled the former USSR regime.

The victim said, both Georgijs Poniza and Armen Pogosyan, gave up their jobs when the victims began work. "My take…why should they work when they can take our money?"

Another victim said he ended up in hospital several times because of psychological pressure, describing one occasion where he had to walk more than 30km.

The victim said he struggled to manage his epilepsy diagnosis because of the environment. He said as he did not have money, this made him vulnerable.

"They were torturing us…this is why I came forward…when I was coming to Ireland, they gave me hope. Now, I’m homeless and living on the street," his victim impact statement said.

Another victim said following an argument with Poniza about wages, he was assaulted and suffered injuries to his ribs. He described wearing a belt around his rib cage for pain relief.

"I was felt treated like a worthless piece of s##t by Georgis and Armen…It was like a slave trade… they were using people for their own advantage," one victim impact statement said.

The court heard more than €120,000 was spent in an amusement arcade by the accused. A letter from that business recalled a large number of cashback transactions.

Georgijs Poniza was born in Riga and he came to Ireland in 2017. He initially worked as a mechanic and in a grocery store.

A forensic psychology report reflected that he experienced a horrific childhood, suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.

His father was a drug addict who assaulted his mother. She abused alcohol. He was placed in state care on many occasions.

He consumed drugs as a teenager to alleviate childhood trauma. He reduced the drug use significantly by the age of 22, which coincided with meeting his wife.

Their relationship has broken down since he was in prison and he has little or no access to his children, the court heard.

The court was told that Armen Pogosyan travelled to Ireland as an economic migrant with his wife, hoping to improve their circumstances and his relationship with his wife has broken down since being incarcerated.

Both men, who are reportedly engaging well in prison apologised to their victims through their legal defence. Both defences alluded to their positive engagement in prison.

The court heard that Pogosyan has participated in various courses including restorative justice, baking and barista coffee making while in prison.

'A day of action'

Georgijs Poniza and Armen Pogosyan were arrested on 24 October 2023 in what was described as "a day of action" as arrests and searches also took place in Lativa.

Both men were detained in Ballyshannon Garda Station and subsequently charged on 28 October. Georgijs Poniza has six previous convictions. Armen Pogosyan has none.

Many witnesses had been scheduled to give evidence in a trial which was due to last up to six weeks late last year, but both men changed their pleas to guilty.

The court heard this was an extensive, comprehensive investigation focused on allegations of human trafficking. Both men were remanded in custody for sentencing in June.