Police raid slave labour farm

A 52-YEAR-OLD farmer was yesterday arrested on charges of worker exploitation, following a police sting at two sites in the Nicosia area.

During the operation, conducted around 4.30am jointly by the police’s human trafficking unit, Immigration, the CID and Labour Ministry officials, police located 32 foreign nationals in total.

Acting on a tipoff, police first raided a farm, owned by a Cypriot couple, where they located 27 foreign nationals living in shacks. Thirteen of the foreign workers – including nationals from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India and Egypt – were determined to be residing illegally on the island.

A second search, with the participation of UN officers, then followed at a farming estate bordering the buffer zone at Peristerona. Here, police located another five foreign nationals, all men.

The men subsequently made a number of allegations against their 52-year-old Cypriot employer. Among other things, they claim that they were forced to work long hours, and that their travel documents and pay were withheld. The employer was placed under arrest shortly later.

At both sites raided by the police, living conditions were appalling, with the workers forced to live and sleep in squalid, rundown shacks. In one case, 12 persons had to share a single sleeping quarters, whereas the lack of space forced some of the workers to sleep outdoors in the fields.

Last night all 32 foreign workers were being held at the local Peristerona police station. Police could not say whether the illegal residents would be deported immediately, but did not rule out further arrests in the case.

Labour Minister Soteroulla Charalambous said later the operation was part of a broader campaign to crack down on illegal employment on the island.

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