‘ASBO’ two preyed on foreign workers
This horrible pair have the dishonour of being the first people to be served with the equivalent of an ASBO for employers.
Sabina Gaina and Badar Hayat recruited at least 36 workers from Romania and Moldova with the promise of well-paid work and good accommodation.
In reality they charged the workers to stay in “cold and mouldy” houses in Leicester, sleeping on the floor on mattresses and in one case cramming 13 into a three-bedroom property.
The couple made £25,000 profit over 10 months from the rent they charged.
Gaina, 25, and Hayat, 43, pleaded guilty at Leicester crown court to acting as gangmasters without a licence and were each given suspended 12-month jail sentences.
They were also hit with labour market enforcement orders and can be jailed if they break its conditions.
Ian Waterfield, director of operations at the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, described them as “two ruthless opportunists spotting a chance to make a quick and substantial profit by preying on vulnerable workers”.