A 35-year-old man from Malmö has been sentenced to prison for human trafficking after recruiting three vulnerable Polish men for black-market construction work under harsh conditions. The case is unique as Sweden's first conviction for labor-related human trafficking. The Polish men were promised jobs and housing but were exploited instead.
On a February morning in 2025, a hypothermic Polish man was found along the E65 highway towards Ystad in Skåne. He had walked over 10 kilometers without money and said he had worked black-market jobs for five months without pay. Police followed the lead to a farm in the Skurup area where two other Polish men were found.
The three men, who came from difficult circumstances in Poland including debt and homelessness, were recruited outside a soup kitchen by the 35-year-old man from Malmö. He promised around 30,000 Swedish kronor per month, free housing, and construction jobs. Instead, they performed simple renovations in private homes across Skåne, with long days and illegal work. They lived in a poorly insulated house with dead pests and dirty mattresses, were monitored, and forced to work without protective equipment. Their passports were taken, and they were indebted.
Malmö District Court sentenced the man to two years and ten months in prison for human trafficking and labor exploitation. One of the men received almost no pay and survived on limited food, including apples from the garden and dog food, according to Judge Håkan Olaussen.
Linda Erhorn, regional coordinator against human trafficking at the police in southern Sweden, describes the case as unique. 'We have previously had convictions related to human trafficking for sexual purposes and begging – but no convictions related to human trafficking in the workplace,' she says. The ruling could guide future boundary settings.
The man denies the crime and claims the Polish men were free to leave. His two accomplices were acquitted of human trafficking but convicted of money laundering, receiving conditional sentences and one year and three months in prison.
