Man sentenced in Newry for gangmaster offences

A Lithuanian man has been convicted of gangmaster offences in Northern Ireland following investigations carried out by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).

Aurimas Andrijauskas, 42, of Knocknagoney Heights, Newry was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment suspended for 3 years for acting as an unlicensed gangmaster when he appeared before Newry Crown Court today (Friday 8 March).

GLAA officers investigated after the Government department DAERA and members of the public reported sightings of shellfish gathering.

Andrijauskas was found to have been illegally gathering and processing shellfish along the coastlines of Northern Ireland and Scotland without having a GLAA licence between January 2019 and March 2022.

Andrijauskas was previously convicted of a similar offence in 2018 of acting as a gangmaster without a licence between October 2016 and May 2017.

Welcoming the sentencing, Yvonne Barwani, Senior Financial Investigator with the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU), Food Standards Agency, the allocated Financial Investigator under a joint working agreement with GLAA, said: “The financial work I conducted estimated that this individual had made around £250,000 from his offending. The offending involved illegal shellfish harvesting which is one of our NFCU control strategy priorities.

At NFCU we are committed to tackling food crime in all it’s different forms and we will continue to work with partners to protect consumers interests in relation to food.”

A GLAA Senior Enforcement Investigator said: “This successful prosecution demonstrates our continued commitment to ensure that those who break the law within our regulated sectors are brought to justice.

“This case should act as a lesson to all illegal gangmasters in the shellfish industry that we will find out and we will prosecute.”

It is a criminal offence to provide labour in the shellfish sector without a GLAA licence. The maximum penalty is 10 years in prison and a fine.

It is also an offence to use labour provided by unlicensed labour providers. This offence carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a fine. You can check if a labour provider has a GLAA licence via our public register.

Anyone with information about unlicensed gangmasters operating in the regulated sectors should contact the GLAA by emailing [email protected] or by using the online reporting form.