THE owner of a business that collapsed after he was arrested for human trafficking has been jailed for 27 months.
Mohammed Rafiq, who ran bed manufacturer Kozee Sleep Beds in Dewsbury, has become the first business owner in the UK to be convicted of a human trafficking offence.
The case came off the back of the sentencing in May 2014 of Hungarian nationals Janos Orsos and Ferenc Illes to five years and three years’ imprisonment respectively for human trafficking offences. West Yorkshire Police then launched a further investigation into the companies that employed the victims trafficked in to the UK.
Mr Rafiq was arrested in October 2014 and charged in November 2014.
Detective Chief Inspector Warren Stevenson, of Protective Services Crime, said the men had come to the UK “on false promises and on arrival were put to work in Rafiq’s factories for abysmally low wages”.
He added: “We hope that this case sends a strong message to those complicit in the trafficking of people into the UK that we will pursue those recruiting a workforce by such means.
“Rafiq has consistently denied any knowledge of the exploitation of the Hungarian men working at his factories and living in cramped and unsafe conditions in one of his properties. His claims did not wash with the police and have not washed with the jury who have tried this case.”
Ten victims gave statements during the trial saying they had been trafficked in to the country and put to work at either the Kozee Sleep factory in Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury, or the Layzee Beds factory in Batley. Both companies come under the parent company Hick Lane Bedding which Rafiq is owner and managing director of.
A number of the victims told police officers that Mr Rafiq was aware that their wages were being paid to Mr Orsos, with him then paying the men around £10-a-week pocket money.
Mr Rafiq is also the owner of Hick Lane Properties, which owns a property called Gothic House in Batley where more than 45 people were found to be living.
A number of victims gave accounts of Mr Rafiq visiting Mr Orsos at Gothic House, so he would have been aware of the living conditions. The rent was believed to be £600 a month.
