Horrific moment police rescue McDonald’s slaves from trafficking ring

Police uncovered a family-run human trafficking ring in London, rescuing 16 men who had been forced to work as modern-day slaves.

Newly released footage showed the harrowing moment officers entered the cramped, unheated home where the victims had been living in appalling conditions, left shivering in their beds.

The operation, which went unnoticed for years, involved brothers Ernest and Zdenek Drevenak, along with their accomplices, who exploited vulnerable men from the Czech Republic.

These men were lured to the UK with the promise of a better life but ended up working at a local McDonald’s and a bakery supplying major supermarkets, all while their wages were stolen by their traffickers.

In October 2019, police raided the Drevenaks’ Enfield property with Detective Inspector Melanie Lillywhite telling the BBC: “We knew that the house was housing a lot of victims. We weren’t clear exactly how many we might find.”

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Among the 16 victims, nine were working at the McDonald’s branch in Caxton, Cambridgeshire, while the others were employed by a bread supplier.

Many of the victims were forced to work long hours – often between 70 and 100 per week – for very low pay, with their earnings frequently funnelled into accounts controlled by the Drevenak gang.

The gang not only seized the victims’ passports but also instilled fear and intimidation, as a deterrent from attempting an escape.

One of the victims opened up about his horrific experience. He told the BBC he was homeless in the Czech Republic when the gang approached him with the promise of a well-paying job in Britain.

He added: “You can’t undo the damage to my mental health – it will always live with me.

“We were afraid. If we were to escape and go home, [Ernest Drevenak] has a lot of friends in our town – half the town were his mates.

“I do feel partially exploited by McDonald’s because they didn’t act. I thought if I was working for McDonald’s, that they would be a little bit more cautious, that they would notice it.”

The Daily Mail reported that alarmingly, the signs of exploitation were overlooked for years.

Detective Sergeant Chris Acourt said that there were “massive opportunities” missed to uncover the gang sooner.

Red flags, such as wages paid into accounts under different names, went unnoticed.

Dame Sara Thornton, the former independent anti-slavery commissioner, expressed deep concern over how many warning signals were ignored.

The police operation led to the arrest of Ernest and Veronika Bubencikova, with both charged with multiple counts of slavery and fraud.

After a lengthy trial, Ernest was sentenced to 12 and a half years, while Veronika received a 10-and-a-half-year sentence.

In a statement, a spokesperson for McDonald’s stressed their commitment to improving systems to identify potential risks in their workforce.

They acknowledged the exploitation faced by these victims and assured the public that steps have been taken to prevent such occurrences in the future.

They added: “This year, we have begun a partnership with Unseen, a leading expert organisation that specialises in addressing modern slavery issues and helping businesses in mitigating any risks of modern slavery in their operations and supply chains.

“We care deeply about the welfare of every single one of the 168,000 people working at McDonald’s and franchisee-owned restaurants across the UK and Ireland.”

Detective Constable Nick Webber from Cambridgeshire Police added: “Drevenak and Bubencikova preyed on vulnerable people in the Czech Republic.

“The idea of work and accommodation in the UK was a dream they sold, one the victims felt they could not refuse.”