Two brothers have been jailed under modern slavery laws for trafficking people to Nottingham and pocketing their pay from Sports Direct jobs.
Erwin and Krystian Markowski controlled and exploited the workers by threatening them with violence and taking their wages.
Nottingham Crown Court was told the “modern slavery” case was uncovered when one of the victims walked into Radford Road police station on January 31 2016 to report he had been living at a house in Radford Boulevard with around ten other men facing a similar ordeal.
He said he was being made to work for Sports Direct through an agency by the brothers and his bank account was being controlled by the brothers.
He told police he had witnessed other workers being beaten by the brothers and was in constant fear of violence.
Police searched the house in February and two more victims came forward, who also said they were being exploited by both men.
The brothers were part of a group which first singled people out as targets in Poland, offering them travel to the UK, work and accommodation.
Soon after arriving they were taken to an employment agency in Mansfield and given work in the Sports Direct warehouse at Shirebrook, north of Mansfield.
But personal documents including passports and national identity cards were taken away from new arrivals by the Markowski brothers.
At the same time they were helped to apply for a bank account and bank card, but as soon as the cards arrived the Markowski brothers took them.
They were then forced to work but were only paid by the Markowski brothers about a third of what they earned, £90 out of about £265 take-home pay.
Erwin, 38, of Cedar Road, Forest Fields, and Krystian, 35, of Harcourt Road, Forest Fields each admitted facilitating the transport of a person to the UK for exploitation and fraud by false representation at a previous hearing.
Speaking after the case, Detective Constable Sarah Fearn of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “The Markowski brothers systematically took advantage of vulnerable people that they purposely brought into Nottingham for their own personal gain.
“They financially benefited from the hard work of others and in return the victims were left feeling used, distressed and manipulated.
“Modern slavery will not be tolerated within Nottinghamshire. The sentence today was a victory for the victims and also shows a warning to those acting in a similar manner.”
