“Romania Probes 'Slaves' Kidnapped, Chained, Forced to Beg”, 13 July 2016

Dozens of vulnerable men and boys were kidnapped, chained up, whipped, fed scraps of food and forced into manual labor or fighting for entertainment over an eight-year period in rural southern Romania, prosecutors said Wednesday…Organized crime prosecutors said the investigation involved some 90 suspects who they say exploited around 65 people with physical and mental disabilities or who were very poor, and made them log wood, beg or look after animals…Some of them performed domestic chores while others were made to transport and sell wood that was the product of illegal logging…Valentin Preoteasa, chief prosecutor at the Pitesti office, called the case unprecedented…"All five prosecutors in the Pitesti office are working on the case," together with police officers, he said…[I]nvestigators have located about 30 suspects, including women, and are in the process of questioning them...