Polish workers are among thousands apparently caught in what police are calling a deadly transborder crime web run by Poles, Italians and Ukrainians that was aimed at supplying cheap labor for one of Europe's most agriculturally blessed regions. One Pole died at the camps; at least 13 people are missing under what police are calling suspicious circumstances. Such worker abuse has grown dramatically in the last three years in Italy, Spain and other Western European agricultural belts as borders have opened and barriers have dropped, officials say.
See "Poles treated as slave labor", Christine Spolar, Chicago Tribune, November 12, 2006