Four suspects detained in Finland for human smuggling

Finnish border authorities have completed investigation into an organization suspected of smuggling people into Finland, local media reported Friday.

Four suspects remain in custody. All suspects are of Iraqi background. Some of them have an asylum status in Western Europe or an EU citizenship.

The group brought 68 persons to Finland in 23 tours between October 2014 and September 2015. The group had cooperated with human smugglers in Greece, Turkey and Iraq.

Lt. Jyri Siitari, who is responsible for the case, told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that prices paid by individual travellers varied greatly.

For journeys originating in Iraq, Syria or Turkey, the cost totalled on average 10,000 euros (10,867.06 U.S. dollars), while intra-European segments were available at around 2,000 euros. Initially the rates were higher, according to Siitari.

Smuggled people applied for asylum upon arrival in Finland, according to the report.

The smuggled people were brought to Finland via Austria, Germany and Sweden. For the final leg, boat services from Stockholm or road transport via Northern Finland were used.

The case has been submitted to the court for charge evaluation on Friday. Swedish authorities had participated in the investigation. Enditem