At dawn today, the carabinieri of the Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto Company (in the province of Messina) carried out a precautionary custody order under house arrest against four people, including a 48-year-old Tunisian citizen and three entrepreneurs who own horticultural companies, investigated for illicit intermediation and labor exploitation, as well as for violations of the rules on illegal immigration.
The provision, issued by the GIP of the Court of Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office led by the Chief Prosecutor Giuseppe Verzera, arises from a detailed investigation conducted by the carabinieri of the Terme Vigliatore station and the Company’s Operational and Radiomobile Unit.
The system of exploitation
The investigations revealed that around ten Tunisian citizens, in conditions of great economic hardship, had arrived illegally in Italy and were then employed illegally in four horticultural companies in the area. According to what has been reconstructed, the 48-year-old Tunisian organized the arrival and stay of his compatriots in the country through false employment requests presented by the entrepreneurs involved, obtaining money in exchange.
The workers were then exploited in degrading conditions: shifts of 10 hours a day without breaks, wages of 5 euros per hour (instead of the 16 foreseen by the collective agreement), lack of rest and serious hygienic-sanitary deficiencies in the places where they were forced to live and work.
A patronage and a service center are also involved
The investigations also highlighted the complicity of two operators of a patronage and an affiliated service center, who – for a fee – would have prepared and forwarded false paperwork to circumvent the procedures of the so-called “Flow Decree”, despite being aware of the irregularity of the documentation. Searches were carried out against them and warrant information was served for aiding and abetting illegal immigration.
The measures and purposes of the operation
Overall, ten people were investigated in various capacities in the investigation, which allowed serious indications of guilt to be gathered and precautionary measures to be taken against the four main perpetrators. The operation is part of the actions to combat gangmastering and labor exploitation promoted by the Carabinieri of the Messina Provincial Command and the Labor Protection Command, in close collaboration with the judicial authorities and supervisory bodies. Objective: to protect the dignity of workers and prevent situations of need from being exploited by unscrupulous employers.