The police found four suspected victims of human trafficking at the Albert Cuypmarkt in Amsterdam. They allegedly did not have valid residence permits and were probably not paid legally.
The Dutch Labour Inspectorate investigated human trafficking and money laundering at the market on Monday morning. The people found were working for a market stall builder.
“Three of the four victims have been handed over to the immigration service because they were not in an asylum procedure,” a spokesperson for the inspectorate told NU.nl. Because of the suspicion of money laundering, the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD) was also present.
The action was part of an ongoing investigation. The Dutch Labour Inspectorate had received a report about the deployment of people without valid residence permits and illegal payments.
The employer of the market stall builders has not been arrested. “That is still part of the investigation,” the spokesperson said. According to De Telegraaf, it concerns a family business that has been building and dismantling market stalls at the Amsterdam market since 2022. The victims come from India, the newspaper writes.