A family dubbed the “most evil” forced slaves to work while they lived a life of luxury with and . The was first put under investigation in September 2014 when issued seven warrants in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and . During raids, 18 men were discovered to have been brought to the caravan site and .
The men, described as slaves, were forced to work for the Rooney family business. They were required to carry out repairs on properties and tarmacking despite living off of scraps of food. But 11 members of the family were arrested and jailed for their part in the human trafficking project where they targeted homeless people and men with learning disabilities to do their work and live in for up to 26 years.
The head of the family, Martin Rooney Sr, aged 58 at the time, was sentenced to 10 years and nine months for orchestrating the twisted operation. The family were “chilling in their mercilessness,” at Drinsey Nook, the Traveller site where they were based, according to their judge, Timothy Spencer QC. The also added their lives were, “akin to the gulf between medieval royalty and the peasantry,” with their slaves forced into laborious tasks everyday without a break.
While the Rooney’s, worth around £4million, jetted off to Barbados, Australia, Egypt and Mexico. They were said to drive lavish BMW’s, undergo and attend soccer school sessions. Another 10 members of the family were also jailed in 2017 with sentences totalling 79 years.
Originally around 60 people who were negatively affected by the family, with one even told to dig his own grave if he didn't sign their work contract. This week, it was announced that one victim, who was under the organisation for 26 years, waited so long for compensation that his captors served their sentences and were released. His family then sued the government for £352,000 for denying him adequate compensation.
However, 15 victims have died without any money awarded. Recently, an intelligence officer has spoken out after he helped six men escape the Rooneys while he served in a homeless church project in Lincoln. Rev Jeremy Cullimore was placed under police protection for a year while court proceedings took place in 2017.
“They would arrange for their slaves to fight each other for entertainment. One man had his teeth knocked out when hit by a breeze block,” he told . “I had a conversation with a man who had been stabbed and left by the roadside because they felt he had not served them as well as he might have.
” ..
