Two charged with gangmaster and fraud offences after arrests in Spain

A man and woman have been charged with gangmaster and fraud offences in the Merseyside area after being arrested by police in Spain.

Spanish authorities arrested the pair in Valencia on Thursday 1 August, before they were later transported back to the UK by Merseyside Police.

Alexander Goran, 30, of no fixed address, has been charged with acting as an unlicensed gangmaster and conspiring to commit fraud by abuse of position.

Ana Marie Goran, 34, also of no fixed address, has been charged with aiding and abetting an unlicensed gangmaster and the same fraud offence.

Both suspects appeared before Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on Friday 30 August after failing to attend a previous hearing earlier in the year.

They have been remanded in custody to appear before Liverpool Crown Court on Friday 27 September for a pre-trial preparation hearing.

The suspects, both Romanian nationals, were the subject of a European Arrest Warrant issued in relation to investigations started by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) last year into potential exploitation of workers in Merseyside and surrounding areas.

Forty-one Romanian workers were found by GLAA officers during the multi-agency operation in Liverpool in March 2018.

Last month, two people were convicted in connection with the investigation, titled Operation Brewer.

Josh Beesley, 27, of Lockerbie Place, Wigan, was jailed for 20 months after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting an unlicensed gangmaster and conspiring to commit fraud by abuse of position.

Christopher Beech, 43, of Lilac Court, Congleton, was handed a suspended sentence and community order for the same gangmaster offence.

A video of the operation was released to the media when the arrests were first made. This should not be used under any circumstances until the case is concluded.