A RUTHLESS gang led by a thug nicknamed “Little Frog” have been convicted of plotting a terrifying extortion racket against Polish workers in Hereford.

A jury at Worcester Crown Court convicted four men of conspiring to commit blackmail at the end of a six-week trial.

Cash demands of up to £400 were made to victims in return for fixing up jobs at the Sun Valley poultry firm and other companies.

Threats were issued to enforce payment of the so-called “tax” and violence dished out to some of those who refused.

Two men who upset the gang ended up in hospital with a broken jaw and a fractured eye socket.

Others fled from their Hereford homes in panic, some returning to Poland early and ditching five-year plans to work in England.Many of the vulnerable people targeted kept silent about the scam through fear of retribution and a lack of confidence in police in a strange country.

But Operation Tropical, launched by West Mercia Constabulary, painstakingly built a climate for a change of attitude and gave protection to witnesses.

Working with interpreters and officers from Poland – sent to Hereford for six weeks to help the inquiry – detectives made major breakthroughs, interviewing more than 200 Polish people.

The £1 million investigation is now being held up as a model for other forces to follow, providing guidelines on how to deal with gangs of east european criminals in the UK.

Detective Sergeant Martin Barnes, of Hereford Police, said: “I have never worked on an inquiry where there existed such a climate of fear. We needed to gain the trust of victims, which we did. Now Polish people in Hereford are once again free to walk about in safety.”

Judge John Cavell paid tribute to the work of the police, saying the Polish community owed them a debt of gratitude.

Convicted of the conspiracy between March and December 2007 were: Krzysztof Wojcik, aged 29, of Marlowe Drive; Jaroslaw Wysiecki, 23, of Grenfell Road; Michal Zubrzycki, 20, of Ledbury Road; Kamil Siegien, 30, of Coningsby Street.

Zubrzycki was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Marcin Walus but cleared of the same offence against Robert Szymczak on the directions of the judge.

Wojcik, the gang’s 21-stone ringleader called Zaba in Polish – or “Little Frog” – had served sentences totalling nine-and-a- half years in Poland for robbery and fraud.

Siegien had a record for assault, Zubrzycki for drugs and Wysiecki for theft.

The gang will be sentenced next month along with a fifth man who pleaded guilty to assisting an offender before the trial began.

He is also in custody.

Grandmother Jolanta Witczak, 41, of Kingsway, Hereford, was cleared of witness intimidation.

BACKGROUND: The operation

The work of Operation Tropical will be scrutinised by a national think-tank to find out what lessons can be learned to fight crime by eastern europeans in the future.
Up to 25,000 Polish people live in Herefordshire and police interviewed over 200 of them in the complex investigation.
Now the National Policing Improvement Agency, drawn from 43 UK forces, will use the results and knowledge gained to help other cities and towns.
Det Sgt Martin Barnes, of Hereford Police, made trips to Poland and has been in touch with police in Merseyside, Kent and Scotland.
"They all have similar problems with the underlying black economy run by criminal enterprises," he said.
Back home, the 20 brave witnesses who gave evidence at the trial were only the tip of the iceberg as the gang's tentacles spread.
Officers identified 40 victims who handed over money for employment, housing or other services.
But they reckon about 100 Polish people were forced to dig into their wages due to blackmail in the two-year scam.
At one time 50 officers were making house-to-house inquiries, which included voluteering for duty over last Christmas.
"There were significant difficulties for Polish people reporting crime," said Det Sgt Barnes. "There existed a cultural mistrust of the police, a hangover from the old Communist days.
"But I'm glad to say that's now changing. We have set up a Polish website and a Polish-speaking helpline.
"Sun Valley were extremely helpful in assisting us by allowing us to address their Polish workers. Leaflets were put into their wage slips."
Many workers were targeted right outside the factory gates by the gang. Some were punched and pushed into cars.
"Up to 300 people would leave work and literally run home and lock their doors," Sgt Barnes said.
"So one of the most gratifying things is that they are more relaxed, now that the fear and mistrust of the police has been broken down.
"Witnesses were very courageous - and I can't thank them enough. They took the first steps forward for justice.
"The vast majority of Poles are loyal, hard working and law-abiding.
"They were embarrassed that Polish people were committing crimes in England. They didn't want English people to think of Poles like that."
Some victims were relocated to secret addresses in Scotland. Protection was also organised in Poland for victims' families.
Sgt Barnes said links between the gang and drug dealing had been identified. Plans to provide doormen for pubs and clubs were also uncovered.
Police feared that more criminals would be brought over from Poland to work with the gang as it became more sophisticated.
"Eventually, this would have touched the lives of everyone in Hereford," Sgt Barnes said.
Workers in Poland earn about 20 per cent of wages they pick up while employed in England.
Most live here for five years and then return since a house in Warsaw can be bought for only £8,000.
Det Con Emma Whitworth, another officer at the forefront of the inquiry, said gang ringleader Wojcik was a prime example of someone who wanted to improve his basic lifestyle by crime in England - not live a life of luxury.
"When he came here he shared a house with 15 people. By the time he was arrested he had a three-bedroomed semi and a BMW," she said.