A McDonald’s restaurant in the United Kingdom and a nearby bread factory were implicated in a human trafficking operation that went unnoticed for several years. A family-run gang from the Czech Republic was found guilty of forcing 16 individuals to work up to 100 hours a week while the gang members pocketed their earnings. The ill-gotten gains were used to purchase luxury cars, gold jewelry, and real estate.
The employers failed to recognize several warning signs of the trafficking operation. These included multiple employees having their wages deposited into the same bank account and sharing the same residential addresses. Dame Sara Thornton, the former independent anti-slavery commissioner, expressed concern over the missed red flags and the companies’ failure to protect vulnerable workers.
Nine of the victims were forced to work at a McDonald’s in Cambridgeshire, while the other nine were employed at Specialty Flatbreads, a bread company supplying UK supermarkets. Two victims were made to work at both establishments. Most of the victims were either homeless or battling addiction in the Czech Republic before being trafficked.
While the victims were paid at least the minimum wage, the gang members stole almost all of their earnings. The victims were given a meager daily allowance and forced to live in deplorable conditions, including a leaky shed and an unheated caravan. The victims were recaptured multiple times when they attempted to escape and return home.
The trafficking operation, which lasted for at least seven years, was finally brought to an end in October 2019. The victims had alerted authorities in the Czech Republic, who then passed the information to the British police.
At the McDonald’s restaurant, nearly $288,000 in wages from at least four victims were funneled into a single account controlled by the gang. The victims, who did not speak English, had their job applications filled out by a gang member who also acted as a “translator” during interviews. The victims were made to work between 70 and 100 hours a week, with one victim reportedly working a 30-hour shift.
Detective Sergeant Chris Acourt stated that the companies missed “massive opportunities” to identify and report the slavery sooner. The gang, led by brothers Zdenek and Ernest Drevenak, withheld the victims’ passports and used violence to intimidate them.
McDonald’s has since partnered with Unseen, an anti-slavery charity, and has taken steps to better detect and deter risks in the future. However, none of the supermarkets that used Specialty Flatbreads as a supplier noticed the mistreatment. The director of Specialty Flatbreads, Andrew Charalambous, stated that the company had supported the police and prosecution, but did not comment further.