Suspected criminal offenses A major cucumber farmer in Närpiä was arrested on suspicion of trafficking offenses – Has received more than 7.5 million euros in agricultural subsidies in recent years

Tens of the railing of Vietnamese garden workers swells in Närpiö. Police now suspect a local greenhouse entrepreneur of human trafficking crimes.

The Ostrobothnian District Court arrested the man on Friday on suspicion of attempted human trafficking and aggravated rape.

According to the arrest warrant, those crimes would have started in 2018 and are suspected to have lasted until last February. The police’s reasons for demanding detention and the suspect’s response are completely concealed in the decision.

The cucumber plantations of a 58-year-old farmer who is the subject of a crime cover a large part of Finland’s annual production. During the period 2016–2020, more than EUR 6.5 million in agricultural subsidies have been granted to the company in the man’s name. Last year, subsidies amounted to more than one million euros.

The HS has not reached the man’s representative to comment on the suspicions.

Criminal Commissioner Hannu Kortelainen commented to the BTI that the police suspect that the man had been involved in organizing Vietnamese workers in the country.

He was the first to report on his imprisonment Svenska Yle.

Police has previously said it is investigating ambiguities regarding the recruitment of Vietnamese workers. The information came to light when Hufvudstadsbladet reported on the investigation in January.

Vietnamese living in Närpiö are suspected of passing Vietnamese labor to greenhouses for years and demanding thresholds of up to € 10,000 to € 20,000 from workers.

HS visited Närpiö earlier this year. Greenhouse workers reported low hourly wages and miserable housing that the municipality rents to workers. Anih few have language skills.

Read more: “Not everyone can live this life” – A shadow society lives in Närpiö, which was silenced in public for a long time

According to police, the number of potential victims of rail crime is three digits. In the past, local Vietnamese couples have been suspected of crimes. The Ostrobothnian police have also investigated two local greenhouse entrepreneurs for financial misconduct.