The federal judicial police in Hal-Vilvorde arrested four individuals on Thursday as part of a major investigation into socio-economic exploitation and human trafficking, the city’s labour auditor announced on Friday.
In addition to the arrests, five luxury cars, 26 bank accounts, and over €430,000 in cash were seized.
Investigators from the judicial police, alongside inspectors from the National Social Security Office (ONSS), conducted searches in thirteen locations across Hal-Vilvorde, East Flanders, and Brussels. Among those arrested were the three managers of the companies under investigation.
The investigation began several months ago following information provided by the ONSS. It focuses on multiple companies suspected of socio-economic exploitation, human trafficking, tax fraud, undeclared work, money laundering, and corruption.
According to Labour Auditor Martin Van den Bossche, the companies are allegedly run by members of the same family who recruited workers from Turkey under false pretences.
Once in Belgium, the workers were reportedly forced to pay a significant amount of money to secure employment. They received almost no salary and were allegedly coerced into signing exploitative contracts.
