Police probe into 4 cases of human trafficking, usury, discrimination

The police are opening criminal investigations into two cases of human trafficking, one case of aggravated usury and one case of extortionate work discrimination following a drive against human trafficking during the joint action week last month.

The police, Regional State Agency and the Border Guard cooperated in inspecting a total of 103 locations such as restaurants, construction sites, hair salons, cleaning businesses as well as horticultural and agricultural businesses in the operational areas of eleven police departments, said police in a press release on Tuesday.

Authorities in 32 countries carried out inspections to combat labour exploitation. Internationally, 261 victims of labour exploitation were identified during the joint action week.

Finnish authorities participated in the international joint action days against human trafficking from 10 to 17 June 2023 focusing on the fight against labour exploitation.

“Inspections were focused on sectors where labour exploitation and the abuse of workers' rights are more common. For example, foreigners and seasonal workers in low-paid jobs are more vulnerable to exploitation,” said Detective Chief Inspector of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Petri Partanen.

Finland took part in the joint action days as a member of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats, EMPACT. The operation was organised and coordinated at national level by the NBI.

At international level, a total of 65,639 individuals and 22,958 vehicles were checked and 261 trafficked victims of labour exploitation and 57 suspected criminals were identified.

In addition to Finland, the joint action days involved authorities from 31 other countries. The operation was supported by Europol, the European Employment Agency and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex.