Chinese embassy in Finland reiterates opposition to human smuggling

The Chinese embassy in Finland on Friday reaffirmed the Chinese government's opposition to human smuggling, following local media reports about the detention of a Chinese flight attendant suspected of smuggling people to Europe.

The embassy said it was following the situation and had requested the Finnish authorities handle the case impartially and in accordance with the law. It also called for the protection of the suspect's legitimate rights.

Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat reported earlier on Friday that the Chinese man, employed by Finnair, allegedly smuggled 33 people from China in the last three years. The paper quoted Finnish Border Guard as saying the case was "unusual in its audacity."

The report said the flight attendant used his company identity card to open side doors at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport and thus helped the people to enter the Schengen area. All of them have continued to other Schengen destinations and no one has remained in Finland.

Ilta-Sanomat reported that the travellers were charged 10,000 euros (about 11,200 U.S. dollars) per adult, and the fee for smuggling a child was 30,000 euros. Among the illegal arrivals, 14 were children. The unnamed suspect was apprehended last February. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars) Endit