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A man suspected of being a victim of modern slavery in the UK was rescued this week from a decrepit shed – where he would live for 40 years.
Police on Wednesday found a 58-year-old man, carrying only a chair and dirty bedding, in a residential hangar north of Carlisle in the state of Cumbria, England, the BBC reported.
He was taken away for examination by medical specialists and a 79-year-old man, suspected of offenses related to modern slavery, was arrested, according to the report.
"The information we were given was that it had been kept in the shed for 40 years," said Martin Plimmer of the Gangmasters and Labor Abuse Authority. "When we found him, he was like a headlamp rabbit and very confused."
"He was just in the clothes in which he was standing and, where he slept in the shed, there was only a dirty quilt on the floor," he added. "There was no heating and it was very cold. These were conditions in which no human being should live. "
It seems that the man was forced to do unpaid work as early as the age of 16 or 17 – and it was unclear whether he had ever tried to leave, according to Plimmer.
"He's been traumatized for so long that regaining his confidence will be a slow process," Plimmer said. "During my long career, I have never met anyone who has been potentially enslaved for 40 years and this, I think, could be the longest period of captivity we've ever dealt with." . "
The agency Plimmer – in collaboration with the National Crime Agency and the Cumbria police – conducted the operation following a call to a confidential helpline, he added.
Carlisle City Council's private sector housing team also participated in the search for potential health and safety concerns, according to the report.
According to The Guardian, modern slavery exists in various forms in the UK.
The number of alleged victims of modern slavery in the country has soared from 13,000 in 2013 to 136,000 in 2018, which has become what the authorities call an "evolutionary threat," according to the Global Slavery Index of this year.
