Two members of a family in Băile Tușnad — a 20-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman — have been remanded in custody for 30 days on charges of human trafficking and forced labour. DIICOT’s Harghita territorial office says they exploited a 56-year-old Hungarian citizen for more than a year.

The alleged exploitation began in late September 2025 and lasted until 4 November 2026. Prosecutors say the victim was housed in the family’s home in the resort town and forced to work in the household and at fruit and vegetable picking, including in Germany and the Netherlands, without pay.

According to the case file, the man was compelled — including through physical violence and psychological pressure — to work from 5 a.m. until late at night: picking mushrooms and blueberries later sold by the woman, day labour harvesting potatoes, and long-distance driving. Wages for the day labour were allegedly taken by the 20-year-old.

In summer 2026 the same defendant allegedly took the Hungarian citizen to Germany and the Netherlands to pick strawberries and work on a flower plantation, collecting all pay owed to the victim. At home he slept on a mattress on the floor in a windowless room without bathroom access and scavenged PET bottles for cash.

Investigators say the defendants kept his ID, driving licence and residence papers. The young man allegedly imposed a fictitious €1,000 debt after a crash involving one of his cars and made leaving conditional on a sum that was never treated as repaid. During a search, the victim’s ID was found on the woman.

On 6 November 2026 a rights-and-liberties judge at Harghita Tribunal ordered 30 days’ pre-trial detention. The probe continues with Harghita organised-crime police, backed by the county police and gendarmerie inspectorates.

Source: Hungarian citizen enslaved by a Băile Tușnad family over a claimed €1,000 debt (Mediafax)