Brothers who trafficked workers from Poland and pocketed their Sports Direct warehouse wages are jailed 

  • Erwin and Krystian Markowski brought men from Poland to work in Shirebrook
  • The pair arranged work and travel documents for the vulnerable victims 
  • A court heard the pair controlled the men's bank accounts and their wages 
  • The brothers who took one third of their victims' wages, were jailed for 6 years 

By Darren Boyle for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

Two brothers have been jailed after trafficking people from Poland and sending them to work at Sports Direct, police said.

Erwin and Krystian Markowski exploited the 'vulnerable' men by taking most of their wages after arranging work for them at the retailer's warehouse in Shirebrook, Derbyshire.

Erwin, 38, of Cedar Road, Nottingham, and Krystian, 35, of Harcourt Road, Nottingham, targeted victims in Poland and offered them the chance to travel to the UK.

Erwin Markowski, left, and his brother Krystian, right, recruited vulnerable men from Poland to work in Sports Direct's warehouse in Shirebrook and took one third of their wages 
Krystian Markowski was involved his his brother Erwin in he people smuggling operation

Erwin Markowski, left, and his brother Krystian, right, recruited vulnerable men from Poland to work in Sports Direct's warehouse in Shirebrook and took one third of their wages 

The victims were sent to work at the Sports Direct warehouse in Shirebrook, Derbyshire

The victims were sent to work at the Sports Direct warehouse in Shirebrook, Derbyshire

The brothers told the victims they would arrange work and accommodation, but would confiscate travel documents and control their bank accounts, police said.

Officers said the case came to light when one of the victims visited the front counter at Radford Road police station in Nottingham last January.

He told officers he was living with around ten other men and being made to work for Sports Direct and his finances were being controlled by Erwin and Krystian Markowski.

Police said the victims were paid about a third of their salary.

The scam came to light after one of the victims approached police in Nottingham last year

The scam came to light after one of the victims approached police in Nottingham last year

The brothers each admitted to facilitating the transport of a person to the UK for exploitation and fraud by false representation at a previous hearing.

They were both jailed for six years at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday.

Speaking after the case, Detective Constable Sarah Fearn said: 'The Markowski brothers systematically took advantage of vulnerable people that they purposely brought into Nottingham for their own personal gain.

'They financially benefited from the hard work of others and in return the victims were left feeling used, distressed and manipulated. Modern slavery will not be tolerated within Nottinghamshire.

'The sentence today was a victory for the victims and also shows a warning to those acting in a similar manner.' 

A spokesman for Sports Direct said: 'We welcome the conviction of these two individuals, who were brought to justice after being reported to police by the Transline agency and Sports Direct in February 2016.

'It sends a clear message that we will not tolerate these kinds of behaviour.' 

Most watched News videos