The men are brothers aged 24 and 39 and were detained on Thursday following an investigation.

As part of the operation "several searches were carried out in homes and restaurants in Elvas, Portalegre and Campo Maior, and also in the Spanish border area”.

"The two detainees forced foreign workers to work excessive hours without any weekly rest”.

According to the SEF, "more than a dozen workers" were detected "in these conditions".

These workers, "in the expectation of obtaining the legalisation of documents, paid the detainees large sums of money to obtain employment contracts, thus becoming hostages to them, in total financial dependence, even having to sleep in commercial establishments," the statement added.

The police operation involved about 20 SEF inspectors.

The detainees were today present at the Judicial Court of the District of Portalegre, which applied various measures of coercion, in addition to the term of identity and residence.

Bi-weekly presentations, prohibition to exercise activity in the area of catering, closure of commercial establishments and prohibition of absence from the country for more than five days are the other measures of coercion to which they were subjected, said the SEF.