Trafficked from Nepal, migrant workers prosecuted while Greek employers escape scrutiny

When a 25-year-old man from Nepal walked into Greece’s organized crime police unit in Athens in January 2024, he said he had escaped forced labor in the strawberry fields of Manolada, a major agricultural hub in western Greece long associated with labor exploitation. He asked investigators to hold those responsible accountable. 

A police operation followed. Arrests were made. But the investigation largely bypassed the Greek employers and supervisors the worker had identified – including individuals linked to a major wholesale strawberry producer in Greece.

Documents from the case file reviewed by Solomon, as well as proceedings at the Athens Court of Appeal observed in November 2025, indicate that authorities did not make full use of the evidence provided by the young man. The Greeks he had identified — both the business owners and the supervisors — were never called to testify, and their role was not examined.

Judicial authorities later described the police investigation as “deficient,” emphasizing that Greek employers were the “ultimate beneficiaries” of the criminal network’s services. 

At the same time, investigators did not extend their inquiries to other workers employed in the same fields and living under the same conditions, even though they could have been potential victims or key witnesses. 

According to confidential sources working on trafficking cases who spoke to Solomon, such omissions appear to reflect a recurring pattern in how Greek authorities handle human trafficking investigations, and they pointed to additional similar cases. 

In another case reviewed by Solomon, trafficking victims were placed in administrative detention or returned without the legal protection mechanisms being activated. 

The case of the 25-year-old worker

On January 5, 2024, the young Nepali man gave his first statement with the help of an interpreter. It had been nearly six weeks since he escaped from the greenhouses of Manolada, where he said he had lived and worked for two months in degrading conditions.

He had been led there through a WhatsApp contact with a woman from Nepal, who, he had heard, helped compatriots find jobs in Greece. Their communication took place while he was in Romania, where he was washing dishes for €450 a month — the “good job” promised by a recruitment agency in his home country, which he pursued after borrowing money from relatives to cover the placement costs.

When he finally arrived in Greece, he said, the promises of legal and well-paid work proved to be false: he was robbed at gunpoint, his passport was confiscated and he was forced to work without pay. 

He gave four statements, providing authorities with names and phone numbers. The anti-trafficking unit launched a months-long investigation involving surveillance, field visits to the agricultural region where he had worked, and court-authorized wiretaps. 

Authorities arrested the woman who had allegedly recruited him, along with her husband, who was described as one of the network’s organizers. Four migrants — drivers of informal taxis — were also arrested and accused of being members of the network. Recorded conversations did not indicate their involvement, and they were ultimately acquitted.

Court documents reviewed by Solomon and trial proceedings at the Athens Court of Appeal, which Solomon observed in November 2025, show that authorities did not pursue key leads. The Greeks the Nepali man had named — business owners and supervisors — were never examined, not even as witnesses. 

From Nepal to the Greek fields 

Since 2020, international organizations including Europol, Frontex and the International Organization for Migration have recorded an increase in South Asian workers entering Europe and being routed to countries with high demand for low-wage labor, including Greece.

Many travel legally at first, flying to Romania or Serbia through recruitment agencies that secure short-term work visas. 

“The first leg usually takes place legally,” said Alexandra Papadopoulou of the anti-trafficking organization A21. “Exploitation begins or continues when, after the three-month visa expires, they are moved irregularly to Greece.”

Recruitment continues digitally, through TikTok and WhatsApp. Solomon analyzed videos advertising routes like menus, listing departure and destination countries and using coded phrases such as “direct lorry” or “direct flight.”

Workers enter Greece through networks operating in Serbia and North Macedonia, sometimes crossing on foot or hiding in freight trains. Police sources with direct knowledge of the networks told Solomon that the trade is widely known in parts of the region and sustains entire communities. 

Demand for labor is a major pull factor. The Greek government estimates that agricultural production requires around 180,000 farm workers annually, while legal migration pathways cover only a fraction of that need.

Trafficking cases involving Nepali workers have begun to surface in Greece. According to A21, four such cases were identified in 2024. By early November 2025, the number had reached twelve. The organization believes the true figure is far higher.

Victims end up effectively captive to networks that confiscate their travel documents, valuables and wages, forcing them into exploitative labor and living conditions.

Kamal, 23, from Nepal, another worker interviewed by Solomon, said he traveled after seeing a TikTok video promising jobs in Greece.

“I begged her not to deceive me,” he said of the woman who managed the TikTok account promising jobs in Greece. 

In Athens, he said, a man of Pakistani origin picked him up at the airport and took his passport within hours. 

“They told me I would work in onion fields,” he said. “Fifty of us lived in a container. Very little water, little food. We worked extremely long hours. They took our documents and phones.”

Identified, but not investigated 

On January 11, 2024, the 25-year-old victim, who had reported his exploitation days earlier, led police officers to the fields where he had worked. He pointed out a car approaching the greenhouses and identified the driver as the “boss,” along with another Greek national. 

Police records reviewed by Solomon show the vehicle belonged to a manager of TAKTIKOS FRUITS S.A., which describes itself as “the leading strawberry wholesale company in Greece.” 

Although the company and specific individuals were identified by the victim, investigators never summoned them to testify. 

In his testimony, the young man described an atmosphere of fear.

“All the workers were afraid of them,” he said, recounting a worker being slapped for working too slowly and adding that he avoided even looking at them when they visited the farm.

Police also did not examine the conditions or legal status of dozens of other migrants working for the same producer, who lived in makeshift shelters and were transported daily in company vehicles.

The company appears to have received European Union funding through structural programs. In corporate filings published in Greece’s General Commercial Registry, it states that it operates “with respect for human rights” and considers “any deviation within the company reprehensible.” 

Our reporting in Manolada (1)

Solomon has documented in depth in recent years the reality faced by thousands of migrant farm workers in Manolada, where many live and work in harsh conditions. Our reporting has also shed light on the system of intermediaries who operate between workers and producers. Read more here.

The company did not respond to questions from Solomon about recruitment practices or safeguards against forced labor.  

Authorities showed little urgency in identifying additional victims or examining the potential role of supervisors and the employer company. By contrast, authorities moved quickly to arrest migrants they considered drivers of the network. 

Questions sent by Solomon to the Hellenic Police and the competent Ministry of Citizen Protection about these investigative gaps had not received a response by the time of publication.

Farm workers in administrative detention

During surveillance, investigators observed that both the alleged female intermediary and Nepali workers traveled to the Manolada fields using informal community taxis. Within migrant communities, such private cars — known as “Bangla taxis” — are commonly used to transport farm workers between regions at the end of the season. 

Phone interceptions showed the identified drivers communicating directly with migrants to negotiate fares, a point later cited in court to argue that they were transport providers, not traffickers. Nevertheless, authorities arrested them as alleged drivers of the network. 

During appeal proceedings, the defense questioned what kind of criminal network members would negotiate prices with the people they were accused of exploiting. The court ultimately acquitted the drivers. 

In October 2025, Solomon attended the trial of five farm workers from Pakistan and Bangladesh who had been identified days earlier during a large police operation targeting a trafficking network. 

The defendants were transferred to a pre-removal detention center in Corinth, where they remain today.

Solomon’s reporting found that in recent months Nepali workers from the same fields — who could also have been potential trafficking victims — had been transferred to the same facility. 

Lawyer Vasilis Kerasiotis told Solomon that “potential witnesses, or even victims of labor exploitation, are deported instead of being protected.” 

“This results,” he said, “in trafficking case files being incomplete because essential witnesses are missing,” while individuals who may qualify for protection are instead returned to Nepal through programs run by the International Organization for Migration.

Greeks the “ultimate beneficiaries” of the exploitation

During the appeal in the 25-year-old’s case, the defense argued that it was illogical to treat as members of a criminal network individuals who negotiated prices with migrants solely for transportation — and the court acquitted them. 

The two police officers who took part in the operation were asked to explain the difference between Bangla taxi drivers who transported migrants occasionally and Greek employees who transported them daily. Their answer: none, underscoring the court’s finding that comparable roles had been treated differently in the investigation.

The court was sharply critical of the police, describing the operation as “deficient.”

“The police cannot choose which crimes matter and which do not,” the presiding judge said, adding that the Greek employers who were not investigated were the “ultimate beneficiaries” of the exploitative labor.

*Solomon produced this investigation with the support of the Open Society Institute – Sofia and with co-funding from the European Union as part of the MediaResilience project.