According to police, a considerable amount of money has been found in home searches.
It has been reported before that the crime is related to Närpiö’s greenhouse production. Pete Anikari
Police have arrested several people in connection with a large-scale extortion operation against foreign workers. The Ostrobothnian police report in a press release. Money and other property have been seized.
In January, the Helsinki Police Department, in co-operation with the Ostrobothnian Police Department and the Central Criminal Police, announced that it had apprehended four people related to the foreign workers’ railways. The Ostrobothnian District Court arrested a business couple from Närpiö on suspicion of a crime. One of the suspects is still in pre-trial detention and another has been released late last week. A fifth person residing abroad is also suspected of the crime.
This week, the Ostrobothnian Police Department announced new arrests in connection with the rail entity. According to police, a “handful of suspects” were apprehended from various locations in Närpiö.
According to police, a considerable amount of money has been found in home searches, and other property has been seized for bail. The number of victims is being determined. Director of Investigation, Commissioner for Crime Sami Isoniemi to decide on possible detention of detainees on Friday. The title of the investigation is aggravated railroads.
This is how the investigation progressed
In the summer of 2021, the Ostrobothnian Police Department and the national police trafficking group of the Helsinki Police Department agreed on investigation arrangements due to large-scale abduction of foreign workers. In the arrests made in January, the Helsinki Police Department’s human trafficking group was in charge of the investigation, and the Aliens Investigation Unit of the Ostrobothnian Police Department was responsible for the investigation in the arrests made on 15 February 2022.
In the cases now reported, the nationality, place of residence and place of employment of the suspects and victims are a unifying factor. There seems to be no other connection between those arrested in January and those arrested now.
It has been reported before that the crime is related to Närpiö’s greenhouse production. The previously imprisoned business couple mentioned above is Vietnamese-based. Police have said they believe the suspects have attracted and recruited workers from Vietnam to work in Finland for overpayment.
Police are aware of dozens of victims in connection with the entire tangle. The number of final victims and the number of final criminal reports will be clarified during the pre-trial investigation.
The Ostrobothnian Police Department has received the first clue about the case at the end of 2018. On the basis of this, several preliminary investigations have been made in accordance with the Preliminary Investigation Act. The first criminal reports have been recorded since the end of 2019. Some of the preliminary investigations have now led to reported criminal suspicions and arrests. In connection with the tangle, older and criminally obsolete threshold money cases have also emerged. This supports the police’s perception of a long-standing, widespread form of crime.
As part of the tangle, the police are investigating the awareness of individual greenhouse entrepreneurs about the situation of their employees and whether there is reason to suspect a crime.
According to the police, there have been a lot of clues and the police thank you for the clues that have already come. Hints related to the case will still be received and can be sent by e-mail to [email protected] or to [email protected].