Landlord accused of keeping vulnerable men as ‘slaves’

A landlord exploited six vulnerable tenants by bullying them into working for him without pay, a court heard today.

Hargit Bariana allegedly forced the men to put in long shifts at his chip shop and pizza takeaways, in Blyth and in Sunderland, in return for leftover food and alcohol, the BBC reports.

The 46-year-old denies eight modern slavery charges, as well as robbery and supplying diazepam.

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Newcastle Crown Court was told that Bariana used “tenants in his multi-occupancy house as unpaid labour and kept them in line with beatings and by stealing their shoes”, says The Times.

Prosecutor Christopher Knox told the jury: “This is about exploitation.”

Bariana preyed upon men “whom he knew were vulnerable in all cases because they were either homeless, or near homeless, they had drug or alcohol dependencies or both”, Knox said. “They were, in practical terms, people at a low ebb and were easily bullied, coerced and forced to do work.”

One of his alleged victims, who cannot be identified, said he moved in after being freed from prison. The man, in his 40s, told the court that he gave his £76-a-week housing benefit, plus £20 from other benefits, to Bariana but was also forced to work at his takeaways. “I was expected to work every day,” he said.

The day after moving in, the witness said, he was “sent to paint a ceiling at one of the takeaways and help strip out the other”, reports the BBC.

According to Newcastle’s Evening Chronicle, when questioned about whether he had ever asked Bariana to pay him, the man replied: “Not really. He bought a bottle of alcohol every night. I’m alcohol dependent, he knew that.”

The trial continues.