17 suspected members of a human trafficking ring were arrested last month. The suspects have been forcing Vietnamese migrants to work in nail salons in the Belgian capital for years, according to the Brussels Labour Audit Office.
The arrests were made on 22 April: 17 related to human trafficking and smuggling and a further 12 related to residence status. Six of the former group have since had their pre-trial detention extended while the rest were granted conditional release. Police closed nine nail salons in Brussels on the same day.
"The investigation shows that the suspected victims are mainly from the Nghe An province in north-central Vietnam," deputy labour prosecutor and spokesperson Valentina Marocchi told Bruzz. "After paying a large sum to the organisation, which has branches in several countries, they are said to have planned the Vietnamese people's journey to Belgium via different 'routes'."
'Far below the minimum wage'
These people were then housed and put to work in nail salons for months. They received very small payments, far below the minimum wage, "and only after they had paid off all their debts".
The traffickers assured the people that they would receive residence documents, either through asylum or family reunification. Many of the people reportedly intended to continue on to the UK via France.
Numerous inspections of nail salons during this time found that workers (some of them minors) did not possess papers and were working in poor conditions where standard hygiene practises were ignored.
The criminal organisation is also suspected of money laundering. These funds were then used to set up the fraudulent businesses in question.
"The suspects deny any involvement in this," said Marocchi.
Human trafficking and migrant smuggling: What's the difference?
It is important to distinguish between human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Both crimes take advantage of vulnerable individuals but there are some key differences (although in this instance suspects are accused of both).
According to United Nations definitions, human trafficking is "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit."
Meanwhile, migrant smuggling refers to "the facilitation, for financial or other material gain, of irregular entry into a country where the migrant is not a national or resident." Migrant smugglers take advantage of individuals who wish to leave their country of origin due to factors such as unemployment, natural disasters, conflict and persecution.
