Two Men Jailed 13 Years for Ireland's First Labor Trafficking Conviction

Georgijs Poniza, 37, and Armen Pogosyan, 30, were sentenced to 13 years in prison by Donegal Circuit Court for human trafficking seven people from Latvia to Ireland for labor exploitation. Pogosyan's final two years were suspended. This marks the first conviction of its kind in the Republic of Ireland for labor exploitation-based human trafficking.

The duo, from Assaroe Falls, Ballyshannon, faced 17 charges each, including seven counts of trafficking, money laundering, and forgery. Judge John Aylmer stated it was a joint enterprise with a high degree of planning, premeditation, threats, physical violence, and significant psychological harm inflicted upon the victims, six men and one woman.

Victims were recruited in Latvia with false promises of good salaries and housing. They were forced to live in substandard conditions in Rossnowlagh or Ballyshannon, lacking heating and bedding, and some resorted to scavenging bins for food. Their passports were seized, bank cards used by the accused, and payslips manipulated, with victims fined for drinking alcohol. One woman was forced to sign a «debt bond» and pay €2,100.

Both men pleaded guilty, sparing victims a six-week trial. Poniza expressed remorse and had a good work record as a mechanic before his arrest. Pogosyan, from Uzbekistan and of Armenian nationality, wrote apology letters. Police arrested the men in 2023, seizing fraudulent documents, fuel cards, and debit cards.