INHUMANE
Inside house of horrors where twisted couple imprisoned 10 slaves forcing them to work nonstop for YEARS
CHILLING photos show a house of horrors where a twisted couple kept ten slaves imprisoned for years.
Maros Tancos, 45, and Joanna Gomulska, 46, forced their victims to work nonstop for nothing and kept them locked in the three-bedroom property.
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The couple have been jailed at Bristol Crown Court for modern slavery and human trafficking offences.
The pair recruited their victims from care homes and orphanages in Slovakia, promising them steady work and a better life in the UK.
However, upon arrival, the men would be forced to work in Tancos' car wash in Southmead, Bristol, as well as long hours in other manual jobs.
The victims would often be verbally and physically abused while all their possessions were taken from them.
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They were regularly forced to work 12 hours a day, seven days a week, and were locked in a three-bedroom home, sharing one bathroom and sleeping on dirty mattresses.
One victim described the house they were held in as "a gate to hell".
"I went there because I wanted to provide for my family and give them more than what they had in Slovakia but the life that I had in Maros' house changed my life completely," he said.
"I was not allowed to leave the house and the only thing I knew was work. All the time I was thinking that I was a slave there. I thought there was no way back."
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Another, who was held for eight years, said the couple had "destroyed half my life".
"The way I was humiliated, for every little thing I was hit and punished. I will never forget that," he said.
"Nobody can understand what I experienced over there unless they were there as well."
Their earnings were kept by Tancos and Gomulska, who gave the victims basic rations of food and kept them in poor living conditions.
The pair made a fortune from their wretched victims, which they spent on gambling sites, and flights and used to entrap more victims.
They would also force their victims to open bank accounts, and applied for loans or credit cards in their name
Between 2010 and 2017, the couple funnelled £300,000 out of bank accounts set up in the names of their victims.
The couple only came to the attention of the National Crime Agency (NCA) when a victim who had managed to return to Slovakia made a complaint to the authorities there.
Following a surveillance operation, the NCA raided an address in Brentry, north Bristol, where they found five Slovakian men living in cramped rooms on filthy bedding and mattresses patched up with cardboard.
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The couple had a library of photos of bank cards, pin numbers and their victims' identity documents, as well as details of the flights they had booked to bring them to the UK.
The NCA, in partnership with the Slovakian authorities, tracked down 42 potential victims, 29 of whom were prepared to give evidence.
Tancos and Gomulska were prosecuted for offences against 15 men.
In March, both were convicted of nine offences related to human trafficking and forced labour, and one count of conspiracy to acquire criminal property.
The NCA believe the true victim count could be considerably higher, as there were many people they were unable to track down.
Tancos was jailed for 16 years while Gomulska was jailed for nine years for her role.
PRISONERS
Judge Martin Picton told both of them they must serve two-thirds of their sentences before they can be released, instead of the usual half.
Jailing Tancos and Gomulska at a sentencing hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Picton said: "You identified potential victims by reference to their circumstances, their financial and social vulnerability - people with little by way of alternative."
He added: "The victims had cash value to you in the same way cattle would to a farmer."
Addressing Gomulska, he said: "You gave the appearance of having some insight and some sympathy, but your experience did not deter you from supporting your partner in what you knew full well was a criminal enterprise.
"You had choices and you made the wrong ones."
NCA Branch Commander Colin Williams said: "Tancos and Gomulska treated their victims as possessions, exploiting their hope of a better life for themselves and their families to keep them in a never-ending cycle of abuse.
"They were prisoners. The experiences they shared in court showed how mentally broken the couple left them.
"These people came from impoverished backgrounds to the UK with optimism but instead had their vulnerability taken advantage of.
"Whilst they suffered, Tancos and Gomulska spent their victims' wages on gambling and cars.
"Our investigation has put these two cruel abusers behind bars for a long time.
"Tancos and Gomulska's vulnerable victims were kept as prisoners and treated with utter contempt, despite promises of a better life in the UK.
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"Victim testimonies showed the mental and physical scars they still carry from their treatment by the couple.
"Tackling human trafficking and modern slavery is a high priority for the NCA, and we hope this result will bring some closure to the victims."
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