The employee said the Patels had kept him and three other men from India in a secret room in the basement of their house and used to lock them at night. Sometimes they made the employees work even when they were not well.
The alleged illegal activity lasted for over a year beginning September 2012 and the investigation began after the witness went to Lexington police in August to report that “bad things” were happening to workers at Subway stores operated by the Patels.
Lexington police then began its investigation and conducted extensive surveillance to document that the Patels were transporting and housing illegal aliens, according to Ramalho's affidavit.
One of Patel's employees had asked the witness to go to police for help because he was tired of being treated badly, Ramalho said.
The employees each owed nearly USD 100,000 for being brought from India to work for the Patels. When authorities searched the Patels' home, they found one of the employees in a locked room upstairs.
Another employee told authorities he got food, lodging, transportation and USD 1,800 a month to work 10 hours a day, seven days a week at the Patels' restaurants.
