2023-12-15 17:03:00
A bakery in the Antwerp district of Merksem and three of its workshops were temporarily closed by order of the mayor of Antwerp, Bart De Wever (N-VA), for human trafficking and endangering safety and health public. Twelve of the thirteen employees were in an irregular situation and several of them were housed in deplorable conditions in one of the workshops.
The business found itself in the crosshairs of police during a wider investigation into illegal bakeries. An inspection of its premises revealed numerous violations. According to police, the bread was baked there in unhygienic and unsafe conditions. The premises had not been cleaned for a long time and the molds used for baking as well as the racks on which the breads were stacked were dirty. Fire safety conditions also left something to be desired.
The workers present tried to flee, but the police were able to catch up with them. It turned out that almost all of them did not have a residence permit. In a workshop, “dirty mattresses and piles of cardboard littered the floor in a room filled with cockroaches,” said the City. Cats also roamed freely in the bakery. The company director was arrested and placed in preventive detention. The workers were ordered to leave the territory by the Foreigners’ Office.
human trafficking police
1702663644
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