DSI Raid on Company of Thai Offender Involved in Finland Berry Picking Job Scam

DSI Raid on Company of Thai Offender Involved in Finland Berry Picking Job Scam

       On Tuesday 13 December 2022, DSI Director-General Mr. Triyarith Temahivong assigned Deputy Director-General Police Captain Piya Raksakul and Director of Human Trafficking Bureau Police Major Siriwish Chantechasitkul to lead a search on a company that belongs to a Thai national arrested in Finland on human trafficking charges. The search was executed by officers from DSI and Central Institute of Forensic Science, with technical assistance from IJM at the direction of Office of the Attorney General under Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act B.E. 2535 (1992).

       This is in response to the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) request from the Finnish authorities, seeking cooperation from the Thai authorities in searching the Bangkok-based company involved in supplying Thai labor for berry picking jobs in Finland. Previously, the Finnish police has arrested the company’s owner (Thai female) and another foreign national in Finland and charged them with human trafficking. The modus operandi include luring approximately one thousand Thai nationals to travel and work as berry pickers in Finland, charging each of them 50,000 baht for travel costs. However, upon arrival in Finland, their passports were taken away, and they were forced to work 14 – 18 hours a day to pay unfair debt incurred from different excessive charges. The practice constitutes forced labor using debt bondage or seized passports to coerce others to remain under control, which is a violation of anti-human trafficking law. This illegal activity was then brought to light by a Finland-based NGO called Riku, leading to the rescue of Thai victims from labor camps and the subsequent arrest of the offenders by the Finnish police.

       The search was a joint operation by Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Office of the Attorney-General, and the Finnish authorities. It reflects the strong determination to combat transnational human trafficking, which poses serious implications for our societies as well as human dignity. During the search, the company’s registration documents, Thai workers’ data and berry processing devices used in weight cheating of picked berries, which has caused several Thai workers to fall into debt with the company. DSI would provide the evidence to the Finnish authorities, as detailed in the MLA request, and would also bring those involved in the offences committed in Thailand to justice.