Couple rescued by GLAA after sleeping rough at London Underground station

A Romanian couple trafficked to the UK have been rescued by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) after investigators found them sleeping rough inside a London Underground station.

GLAA officers found the husband and wife at Marble Arch station in July after the couple had managed to contact one of their friends to explain that they had been discarded by their exploiters and left with nothing in a foreign country.

Their friend, a Romanian national working for a GLAA licence holder, then told his boss what had happened and asked if anyone could help them.

The couple are now settled with new full-time jobs and accommodation secured for them with the help of the GLAA.

GLAA Senior Investigating Officer Jennifer Baines said: “Both the husband and wife had been callously dumped in unfamiliar surroundings with nowhere to live and nowhere to work. They were extremely vulnerable and at serious risk of further exploitation without urgent safeguarding action.

“Thanks to the excellent relationship we have with our licence holders, we were tipped off about this situation and were initially able to arrange for them to sleep in a hostel that night to keep them safe.

“After some more calls and help from a recruitment agency, we managed to find them work and accommodation with one of our trusted licence holders in Cambridgeshire.

“We are delighted with how well they have settled in and one of our investigators went to meet them a few days ago. They are so grateful for an opportunity to rebuild their lives free from the clutches of those who abused and then discarded them.

“Protecting vulnerable and exploited workers is our job. But going one step further and supporting them as they build new lives for themselves is a very rewarding experience.”

If you have information on someone trafficked to the UK for the purposes of labour exploitation, please call the GLAA on 0800 4320804 or email intelligence@gla.gov.uk.

Alternatively, contact the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.