Police in Finland have busted a sex trafficking ring led by migrants that operated in at least twelve major cities and trafficked women from Romania, forcing them to work as prostitutes.
Investigators arrested five men and one woman in Finland this week in connection to the sex trafficking network and another man has been held in custody in Romania. Several hundred thousand euros have also been seized as part of the operation and police are investigating possible money laundering operations as well.
According to a report from Finnish broadcaster Yle, the network operated in Helsinki, Turku, Espoo, Tampere, Oulu, and many other major cities across the country.
The victims are all said to ber Romanian citizens lured to Finland by fake job offers, although the broadcaster claims some of the victims knew what sort of work they would be engaging in when they reached Finland.
Detective Inspector Jukka Larkio, who led the investigation, said many of the women were forced to work without being paid at all, while others received only 50 to 80 per cent of what they were promised by the sex traffickers.
“Trafficking in human beings and pimping has been going on in different cities for a short period of time. The same people have been placed in the same apartments usually for less than a month. The suspects have had a network covering almost the entire country. Women have been moved to apartments in different cities,” Larkio said.
Migrant sex trafficking and migrants being forced into prostitution has become common in many countries in Europe in recent years, from Nigerian mafia gangs in Italy to Eastern European gangs in the United Kingdom.
In April of this year, a Britain-based gang said to be comprised of Chinese and Romanian nationals was subject to a police raid that saw a million pounds, luxury cars and watches and other items confiscated by investigators.
The victims of the sex trafficking network were also said to be mostly Chinese and Romanian nationals.