A ring of eight ex-patriot Poles living in Birmingham has been convicted and sentenced to terms of 5 to 11 years for creating and running a modern slavery ring made of up their own countrymen. As many of 400 marginal Polish refugees were brought to the UK, including alcoholics, homeless and former prisoners. They were forced into heavy and menial work for which they were often paid with a small amount of food. Enforcers would beat those who complained. The investigation revealed that members of a family named Brzezinski led the ring. One man who complained about living conditions and pay had his arm broken, was refused medical care, and then ejected from the accommodation because his injury left him unable to work. Another was stripped naked in front of other workers, doused in surgical chemical iodine, and told that the gang would remove his kidneys if he did not keep quiet. Gang members were said to have lived in luxury. One drove a Bentley. The gang was revealed by the anti-slavery charity Hope for Justice. The charity said 51 of the victims eventually made contact at its outreach drop-in centres. The organization was then able to flag the slavery ring’s existence to West Midlands Police.