Trafficking in human beings for sexual and other purposes - Polisen

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3. Criminal Development26Finally, foreign companies conducting business mustalso register a branch office in Sweden in accordancewith the Act (1992:160) concerning foreign branchoffices etc. 32 .With the new guidelines, the public authoritieswanted to show that the employee’s right to reasonableconditions will take priority over any objectionsfrom the berry industry. In addition, they put theauthorities and unions in a better position to act onthe basis of their respective areas of responsibility.The Swedish Tax Agency was given improved conditionsfor inspecting the companies and the unionswere given a physical partner for dialogue in Sweden.The stricter guidelines improved the situation in2011 for berry pickers from outside the EU by makingit harder for rogue operators to exploit them. In 2011the Swedish Migration Board granted 2,673 applicationsfor work permits for berry picking, as comparedto almost 4,500 in 2010. The majority of the applicationsconcerned people from Thailand, but also citizensof Bangladesh and Vietnam. As a result of themore stringent guidelines, the police only drew up afew reports concerning crimes against berry pickersfrom countries outside the EU in 2011, a significantimprovement on 2010. Despite the measures taken,however, it turned out that citizens from EU countries,who were recruited to pick berries, remained atrisk of abuse and exploitation in an unfair manner.This is because rogue operators recruit labour fromparticularly vulnerable groups such as certain ethnicminorities, people who can neither read nor write,and who do not need a work permit to pick berries inSweden.Two cases of particular interest in 2011In the Hudiksvall District Court, a Bulgarian couple,a man and a woman, were acquitted of human traffickingand sentenced instead for assault and molesta-32 The Swedish Migration Board, business area visits, residenceand citizenship, VCI 2/2011.tion, among other offences. According to the indictment,jointly and in agreement, the couple had misled,recruited under coercion, transported and accommodatedthree men from Bulgaria. The prosecutor alsoasserted that the couple had not made any payment tothe injured-parties for any work performed and thatthey had confiscated the injured-parties’ passports.The couple had also misled the victims with promisesof high wages for picking berries as well as freetravel, food and accommodation. However, thedefendants did not pay any wages and also assaultedone berry picker, for example, because he “ate toomuch”. The case came to the attention of the policebecause the victims escaped and contacted the localpolice authority and the Bulgarian Embassy.The District Court stated that the evidence wasinsufficient for a prosecution for human traffickingsince the prosecutor was unable to prove that the couplehad intended to cheat the berry pickers out oftheir wages even while still in Bulgaria. The man wastherefore convicted only of attempted assault, molestationand arbitrary conduct, and sentenced toimprisonment for three months, among other thingsfor having dragged one of the berry pickers behind acar. The woman was convicted of assault and arbitraryconduct, and sentenced to prison for threemonths, for having thrown an empty berry box at oneof the berry pickers, for example 33 .Another Bulgarian couple were remanded in custodyin autumn 2011 by Hudiksvall District Court onsuspicion of human trafficking. The pair werebelieved to have forced seven people from Bulgaria totravel to Bollnäs to pick berries in 2010. Several of thevictims went to the police and told them that they hadbeen beaten and forced to commit crimes if they didnot pick enough berries. The female victims had alsobeen threatened that they would be exploited in prostitution.The investigation was made more complexbecause the victims returned to Bulgaria, but it33 Hudiksvall District Court 31.10.2011, Case no. 1834-11.
3. Criminal Development27resumed in 2011. In June 2012, two perpetrators wereeach sentenced by Hudiksvall District Court to tenmonths in prison, plus a ten-year exclusion order forhuman trafficking for forced labour purposes 34 .3.2.4 Exploitation of people for tarmac and pavingworkAs part of the national initiative to combat volumeand serial crimes, the police authority in the county ofÖstergötland was given responsibility for coordinatingpolice actions against gangs of rogue tarmac andpaving layers from Great Britain and Ireland 35 . Sincelast year, the police have been able to establish that, incertain cases, it was possible to relate suspectedhuman trafficking, kidnapping, arson, assaults andunlawful threats etc to these groups. Police also begancollaborating with the Swedish Tax Agency, SwedishCustoms, the Swedish Prosecution Authority, theLarmtjänst service (set up to combat organised crimeon behalf of the Swedish insurance industry) and theSwedish Migration Board because of the special initiative.A methodology manual was updated and madeavailable on the police intranet for all police authorities,to ensure that the police authorities could workin a consistent manner to combat this type of crime.The gangs travelled between different locations andcountries during the spring and summer months tocarry out tarmac and paving work, and lived in caravansat camp sites or larger car parks. They offeredtheir services to private individuals, often home owners,in the local area by handing out leaflets withinformation about their activities. These companiesare usually not legitimate and only a few are registeredon the companies’ register. Neither the perpetratorsnor the private individuals who hired the companiespaid any duty, VAT or tax.34 Hudiksvall District Court 15.06.2012, Case no. 2220-11.35 For more information about the exploitation of personsthrough tarmac and paving work, see the Swedish NationalPolice Board’s tenth situation report on Trafficking in HumanBeings for Sexual and Other Purposes, 2007-2008.Private individuals engaging such companies may becommitting a criminal offence and the demand forservices from people who are victims of traffickingshould be combated in compliance with internationallaw 36 . In Sweden, a person purchasing/engaging thevictim’s services risks being held responsible for usuryin compliance with Chap. 9 § 5 Para 1 of the PenalCode and breaches of the provisions of the Act onTax Offences (1971:69). According to the provision onusury, anyone who, by means of a contract or someother legal document, takes advantage of someone’sdistress, foolishness, ignorance or dependency inorder to derive benefit, which is obviously disproportionateto the remuneration or for which no paymentis to be made, will be punished.Chap. 20 § 5 of Sweden’s Aliens’ Act should alsoapply in certain cases if someone intentionally or negligentlyemploys a foreigner although the alien inquestion does not have a prescribed work permit.Chap. 3 § 10 of the Penal Code in cases where someoneintentionally or negligently is in breach of therequirements of the Work Environment Act, to preventillness or accident, thereby causing the death ofanother person, physical injury or illness.36 The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Traffickingin Human Beings (2005:8, ratified 31 May 2010), Article19: Criminalisation of the use of the services of a victim ofcrime.
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Page 71 and 72: Annex 4 - Reported offences in 2011
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