Two men jailed for 'inhumane' crimes at Carlisle car wash

From left: Sitar Ali and Defrim Paci forced workers to work long hours for little pay, the court heard

Two men have been jailed for running a modern slavery ring at a car wash in Carlisle.

Defrim Paci, 42, of Nottinghamshire, and Sitar Ali, 33, of Carlisle, brought Romanian workers to the UK and made them work long hours for little pay.

Carlisle Crown Court had heard evidence from four men forced to work in "horrible" conditions where they suffered burns from the chemicals used.

Paci was jailed for 45 months and Ali for 39 months.

Paci, a 42-year-old father of four, led a criminal plot to exploit employees at Shiny car wash on Warwick Road over a 15-month period during 2016 and 2017.

Ali ‪managed the site, denying the men proper breaks and days off.

Some of the men were left with only £20 in their weekly pay packet despite working 11 hours a day, six days a week.

Wage slips overstated pay and understated the working hours of workers who suffered sore feet, cracked hands and exhaustion.

Romanian men were forced to work in terrible conditions at the car wash in Carlisle

Some of the victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, spoke of their skin being "burned" by "toxic" cleaning chemicals, and of receiving no protective clothing.

One said in an impact statement: "The inhumane manner in which Sitar and Defrim treated those that worked for them will forever stay with me and has caused me to lose trust in people."

Another of the men added: "I was treated like a piece of garbage by those running the place and this caused me extreme stress there and long-term anxiety afterwards."

A third described the ordeal as "the most horrible experience I have been through in my entire life".

Despite their denials, Paci, of Windmill Close, Sutton-in-Ashfield, and Ali, of Adelaide Street, Carlisle, were each convicted of two modern slavery offences.

Ali was also found guilty of possessing criminal property, after £16,000 was found in his car when police began making arrests during their investigation.

Judge Nicholas Barker said during sentencing it was necessary to show such offending "will not be tolerated by the courts".