HELSINKI, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Finnish Border Guard has uncovered a human trafficking gang, which smuggled more than 100 people from Turkey to Finland via Sweden over the last year, reported Finnish national broadcaster Yle on Thursday.
The criminal organization has been alleged of aggravated arrangement of illegal entry into Finland. At least 100 persons have been brought illegally from Turkey to Sweden, and then from Sweden to Finland by ship or airplane, said the Border Guard.
Jukka Tekokoski, Head of Investigation at the Crime Prevention Unit of the Gulf of Finland Coast Guard District, told Yle that this could be the biggest people smuggling case ever investigated in Finland.
All the 15 suspects have Iraqi backgrounds, and the group includes Finnish and Swedish citizens.
The alleged have gained considerable financial benefits from their criminalities. They charged those smuggled around 10,000 euros (11,402 U.S. dollars) per person from Turkey to Europe and 2,000 euros for a trip inside of Europe, said Tekokoski.
The case was discovered in spring this year, when the Border Guard conducted a normal monitoring operation at the port of Helsinki.
The pre-trial investigation was conducted by the Finnish authorities in cooperation with the Swedish police in autumn this year. Fifteen people were detained.
Currently, some of the detainees are still in Sweden. An extradition request has been made for their transfer to Finland for prosecution by the Prosecutor's Office of Helsinki, said the Border Guard.
