First Irish Human Trafficking Conviction for Labor Exploitation: 7 Victims, €120,000 Lost

Georgijs Poniza (37) and Armen Pogosyan (30) have pleaded guilty to 17 charges, including seven counts of human trafficking for labor exploitation, marking the first such conviction in the Republic of Ireland. The two men, both residing at Assaroe Falls, Ballyshannon, will be sentenced by Judge John Aylmer on June 9th after a two-day hearing at Letterkenny Circuit Court in Co Donegal.

The court heard that seven victims, recruited by deception from Latvia with promises of good salaries and housing, were trafficked between December 2020 and October 2023. They were forced to live in unheated, substandard accommodation in Rossnowlagh or Ballyshannon, with no bedding, and were made to search public bins for food. Victims reported being treated like «slaves,» assaulted, and threatened, with one woman forced to sign a «debt bond» and pay €2,100. Total lost earnings for the victims amounted to approximately €120,000.

The accused supplied workers to two south Donegal companies, which are not implicated in any criminality and cooperated with the investigation. The case came to light after a complainant reported his trafficking to Store Street Garda station in Dublin in April 2022, leading to statements from seven victims. Poniza and Pogosyan have been in custody since their arrest in October 2023, with significant evidence, including fraudulent documents and passports, seized.