German couple forcibly held Šibenik family and exploited them for physical labor

A married couple, a 51-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman, are suspected of human trafficking as they recruited a family in the Šibenik area during October and November of last year, consisting of a 27-year-old man, his 21-year-old wife, and their two children, to go to Germany, where they exploited them for hard physical labor, reported the Šibenik police on Wednesday.

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“It has been established that the suspects, during October and early November of last year in the Šibenik area, repeatedly recruited the 21-year-old woman and her 27-year-old husband, along with their two children, for going abroad, using their difficult living situation, deceiving them about the working conditions, housing, and compensation for work in the Federal Republic of Germany,” stated the Šibenik police.

The suspected couple organized their transportation and accompanied them to Germany, where the four-member family worked under duress from November 4 of last year until January 22 of this year, performing hard physical labor and serving without monetary compensation. The family could not return to Croatia because the couple confiscated their identification documents and constantly threatened them.

According to the police, the four-member family that was brutally exploited by the couple lived in inhumane conditions, without basic necessities.

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The police learned about the entire case after being contacted by the affected family.

After completing the criminal investigation, the suspected couple was handed over to the detention supervisor of the Šibenik-Knin Police Administration, along with a criminal complaint.