- Mohammed Rafiq exploited Hungarians at Kozee Sleep for cheap labour
- The victims had to work up to 16 hours a day for as little as £10 per week
- Bed-making factory, now defunct, was based in in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
- It supplied Next Plc, the John Lewis Partnership and Dunelm Mill
The boss of a bed-making factory who employed large numbers of Hungarians as a 'slave workforce' to supply beds to top high-street retailers has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for people trafficking.
Mohammed Rafiq, 60, sourced the Hungarian nationals at his now defunct Kozee Sleep in Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire for cheap slave labour.
The trafficked men, who were promised good wages, housing and food in the UK, were forced to work up to 16 hours a day for as little as £10 per week once in West Yorkshire.
They survived on scraps of food, with up to 42 men living in a two-bedroom house.
Mohammed Rafiq, 60, was found guilty of conspiracy to commission a breach of UK immigration law. He was sentenced to 27 months in jail
The interior of a house in Bradford where a number of Hungarians employed as 'slave workforce' were housed
File picture of former Home Secretary MP Robin Cook in the showroom with managing director Mohammed Rafiq after opening Kozee Sleep at Ravensthorpe
Rafiq, who was described as having 'a spectacular fall from grace' within his religious community, was aware of the men's circumstances yet went along with their exploitation as a slave workforce.
His conviction follows that of Hungarian men Ferenc Illes and Janos Orsos, who were jailed last year after being found guilty of supplying Kozee Sleep with slave labour.
The factory and its subsidiary Layzee Sleep, in Batley, were to supply household names including Next Plc, the John Lewis Partnership and Dunelm Mill who despite carrying out regular ethical audits failed to spot what was going on.
Chancellor Alistair Darling visits Dewsbury and Batley, speaking to business owners about the economy and the recession. Kozee Sleep's Mohammed Rafiq (left) shows Alistair Darling and Shahid Malik around the factory
As part of the defendant's contract with the companies he was required to adhere to each of their policies regarding ethical trading, including how persons who worked on their premises were treated.
At Leeds Crown Court Judge Christopher Batty said that having listened to the evidence of witnesses during the trial, it was apparent 'just how upset and how affected the witnesses were and the number of them who were reduced to tears'.
In January, the jury was told how one man, Robert Bodo, travelled to Batley from Hungary in January 2010 and was taken to live in a town property called Gothic House, where 40 to 50 people were living and he shared a room with three others.
Inspectors found the house was in 'a horrendous state'.
Rafiq, who was described as having 'a spectacular fall from grace' within his religious community, was aware of the men's circumstances yet went along with their exploitation as a slave workforce.
Next Plc, the John Lewis Partnership and Dunelm Mill despite carrying out regular ethical audits failed to spot what was going on
The trafficked men survived on scraps of food, with up to 42 men living in a two-bedroom house
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