recruiters and the republic. and the recruiters and the czech republic were looking from elsewhere down on their luck. they owned cleaning companies in cardiff. for other workers told lisa that they were forced to work. this man was beaten and paid just £100 a month. they're running a slavery operation. they were running an operation. they were running an operation to make money. 0n the back of others. next to drugs trafficking, modern—day slavery is thought to be the world's most lucrative crime. it is a trait that is very much alive here on the streets of wales. last year around 200 men, women and children were identified by police as potential victims. and there could be hundreds more, hidden in communities across wales. as well as human trafficking and modern—day slavery, there are also other forms of labour exploitation happening in wales. we've come to one of the most

deprived and diverse parts of newport, where there is someone offering to supply cheap labour, cheap as in ripoff rates. we are sending in an undercoverjournalist to meet him. i'm posing as a businessman. i buy and renovate old 01’ businessman. i buy and renovate old or dilapidated properties. and crafters, labourers, iwant or dilapidated properties. and crafters, labourers, i want them to go in and clear out these properties. it is hard, tough work. the contact has asked to meet at his many market. his name he has told me, and as well as running a shop he has a car wash as well. this is him, oui’ has a car wash as well. this is him, our undercover businessman has told him he needs at least ten men for thejob. they should each be getting around £80 a day. what is the price for one man? for one day? so the workers only get £50 a day,

that's below the legal minimum wage. and he would make almost £1000 a week from the deal. how old they are? from 30, to 40. but don't tell them how much you paying me. of course not. see you next week. what he's offering us is against employment law. it's greed that is funding this activity. people can do the sums, they all know the minimum wage is, they know how much the living wage is, they know what a reasonable wage is for thatjob,

all they are doing is fuelling this sort of exploitation. stephen chapman is leading the fight against slavery and labour exploitation in wales. in the last six years there's been a 300% rise in reported trafficking and slavery cases across the uk. this has been low risk, high reward for the criminals. what we have now got to do is make it high risk for them and, and no reward. but human traffickers fedak and feko took the risk. one of their victims was bought and sold into slavery in cardiff. i'm heading to the czech republic to find him. over an hour's drive from prague is the region of hradek kralove. this is where it all started. victims were found often on the streets of czech towns, some were even homeless. they were the kind of people who no one go looking for when they disappeared to the uk. but they were all down on their luck

and they fell for the same old lies, the promise of a better life in cardiff. i'm meeting the first of their victims to break his silence, he's a father in his forties. he's asked us not to identify him. translation: i was living in a boarding house but when my welfare benefits were cut i couldn't stay there anymore, so i was in a really bad situation and then i had this offer to go to the uk. he had the right to work in the uk. but no idea that he'd been bought and sold by criminals. i was cleaning trains and industrial kitchens. i was supposed to get £1,100 a month but in the end i was only getting £300. in cardiff, identification papers were taken from the victims. at first i could go out a little bit. but after my room mates started cleaning these offices

in cardiff bay they started locking the house so i couldn't leave the house until they got back. he says months of mental cruelty broke him. translation: i learned feko had actually bought me, i learned feko had actually bought me, i realised he'd bought me like a piece of furniture. when feko himself told me that he bought me for 700 euros so i should behave in accordance with that... what i did was i got drunk, and i tried to commit suicide. ijumped off a bridge and i woke up in hospital where i talked to the police. that led to the arrest of fedak and feko and a trial at this court in this court in hradec kralove. we were allowed to film inside. why did you force men to work as slaves in the uk? how many men do you buy and sell as slaves?

brought to the court in chains, charged with human trafficking after a joint investigation between south wales and czech police. both deny any wrongdoing. translation: i cried when the judge read my testimony. it is not a very good feeling. he had fallen victim to slavery. but we've discovered labour exploitation is also happening under our noses. in newport, our undercover businessman is going back to meet bakhtyar, who's hiked his prices. he now wants £85 a day for each worker. but after his cut, the labourers still wouldn't get the legal rate. so what if they complain?