Police officers

Police assisted the GLA in arresting the man

A man who was suspected of acting as an unlicensed gangmaster in Northern Ireland was arrested yesterday (1 April) in the town of Lurgan by the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) assisted by officers from the Northern Irish police force.

The 39-year-old Romanian national was apprehended as part of the regulatory authority’s ongoing investigations into unlicensed labour provision on fruit farms in County Armagh.

He is suspected of supplying workers to pick apples and other fruit without a licence at various locations in the area – activities that require a GLA licence. He was released pending reports being submitted to the Public Prosecution Service.

Providing workers for roles in agriculture, horticulture and food processing and packaging without a GLA licence is a criminal offence that carries a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.