Two Eastern European men who trafficked seven people to Ireland for work and subjected them to horrendous conditions have been jailed.Georgijs Poniza (37) was handed a 13-year prison sentence and Armen Pogosyan (30) was given a similar sentence, but with the final two years suspended, when they appeared before Donegal Circuit Court on Thursday. It is the first conviction of its kind in the Republic for human trafficking on the basis of labour exploitation. Some of the victims had to scour public bins for food.The duo, of Assaroe Falls, Ballyshannon, were each before the court on 17 charges, including seven apiece of trafficking. They also pleaded to money laundering and forgery charges.Judge John Aylmer said it was clear it was a joint enterprise and both men “played a lead role.”He noted a very high degree of planning and premeditation and said there was a substantial degree of threats and menaces used with victims subjected to physical violence.The victims, six men and one woman, lived either in a rural house in Rossnowlagh or in an apartment in Ballyshannon, where conditions were described as “substandard” with a lack of heating and no bedding.“There was a very significant psychological harm inflicted on the victims,” Judge Aylmer said. “In some cases, the impact continues.” “You took advantage of the fact that they were all vulnerable people and they lived in quite impoverished circumstances in Latvia. They were, therefore, all the more amenable to this type of exploitation.”Last month at a sentencing hearing, Dt Gda Paddy Kelly told how the victims were initially recruited by deception in Latvia. They were promised employment with a good salary, good housing and no bills.Poniza and Pogosyan entered into an arrangement where they would supply workers to two companies in south Donegal. There was no criminality suggested against the companies, who co-operated fully with the investigation.Bank cards in the name of some of the victims were obtained and used by the accused.“The victims suffered extreme humiliation,” the judge said. “They felt as if they were treated like ...animals, or worse, like slaves. They were left homeless and some were left savaging in bins for food.”The passports of the victims were seized by the men who said they were needed to manage tax affairs. The accused used their victims’ payslips to control what money they would receive. They made deductions while victims would be “fined” if they were found drinking alcohol in the properties.“I felt that I had no rights,” one victim said, adding that he was regularly assaulted. “I felt humiliated.” A woman told how she was threatened and bullied and how the pair controlled their victims at all times. At one stage, the accused men made her sign a “debt bond” and she paid €100 a week until a total of €2,100 was paid over.The judge noted both accused had entered guilty pleas, albeit at a late stage, which spared the victims having to endure a six-week trial.He noted an “expression of remorse” from Poniza, which was previously issued through defence counsel, while he said that Poniza had a good work record, having trained as a mechanic, before his arrest.Pogosyan, who hails from Uzbekistan and is of Armenian nationality, penned a series of letters to victims and to Aylmer, detailing his apology, a previous court hearing heard. The judge said his remorse was apparent. When police arrested the men in 2023, Revenue and fraudulent documents in victims’ names were seized as well as fuel cards and debit cards.