Janos Sztoska: Modern slavery boss made victim live in squalor

Janos Sztoska admitted a string of modern slavery and fraud offences

A man who forced a worker to sleep without a bed with no access to a toilet or shower has been jailed.

Leicestershire Police said Janos Sztoska was arrested in December after concerns were raised about the welfare of factory workers in Derbyshire.

The force added Sztoska used a stun gun on one victim and made him live in poor conditions, including forcing him to sleep downstairs with the family dogs.

He was sentenced to six years in prison at Leicester Crown Court on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old, of Westover Road, Leicester, previously admitted a string of offences after police identified five victims during their investigation.

Inquiries found men from Hungary were brought to the UK with the promise of good pay.

However, they did not receive their wages or were paid a fraction of what they earned.

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An investigation, which involved police, the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and the National Crime Agency, found Sztoska arranged for the victims to work at the factory in Derbyshire.

Police said he then housed them in Leicestershire and set up bank accounts using the men's names that he used for fraudulent activity, and spent their wages funding his own lifestyle.

During a raid on Sztoska's house, police found a stun gun that was used against a victim

The investigation found one victim was forced to live in squalor at Sztoska's home and had a stun gun used on him.

The victim told officers he slept without a bed in a downstairs room with the family dogs, and was not allowed to use the toilet or shower, and so had to use the garden.

He was shouted at or slapped if he refused to do something, police added.

Sztoska admitted arranging or facilitating travel of another person with a view to exploitation, requiring a person to perform forced/compulsory labour, making or supplying articles for use in fraud, entering into or becoming concerned in a money laundering arrangement and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Sztoska was arrested following raids last year

As a result of the inquiry, police said one person was deported and another received a caution for fraud offences.

Det Con Daljinder Gill commended the victims for their "bravery and co-operation".

"Modern slavery unfortunately remains very much ongoing across the UK today. We urge people to be aware, to spot the signs and to report any suspicions they have to us," he said.