A gangmaster based in Southampton has been sentenced to 200 hours of unpaid work as part of a 12-month community order and ordered to pay costs of £10,902.59 within six weeks for intentionally obstructing a Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) officer.

Jagjit Singh, who at the time of the offence was running gangmaster business Saphire Trading, initially denied that he provided accommodation to his workers. However, he later provided a redacted list of properties.

After a full list was demanded, the GLA officer  identified 348 Portswood Road, Southampton and established that Singh was housing Polish workers in a property deemed too dangerous for human habitation.

The GLA investigation also uncovered persistent and systematic exploitation of vulnerable workers and revoked the licence shortly following the investigation.

Paul Whitehouse, chairman of the GLA, says: “Singh made blatant attempts to mislead the GLA and hide the exploitation of his workers. He has not only lost his licence but faces significant costs and will have to complete 200 hours of unpaid work as a punishment.

“My officers quite rightly do not take the gangmaster’s word at face value. They always investigate thoroughly and are used to uncovering the lies and deceptions that are regularly used to hide the worst cases of exploitation.”