– The charges are mainly coarse trafficking and forced labor, this is very serious, says police chief Bjorn Vandvik by Raumarike police.
Police held Tuesday afternoon pres conference after today’s large-scale police action against retail Lime.
At the press conference it was revealed that police today arrested 18 people:
- Ten people are arrested for serious trafficking
- Four people accused of grossly illegal handling
- The last four are charged with aggravated fraud, mortgage fraud and over billing
All arrestees are Norwegian citizens, with the exception of a Swedish citizen. The accused will be active in the ownership of Lime-kjeden.De police suspect have been victims of trafficking come mainly from Nepal and Pakistan, police said.
A total of more than 280 people involved in current long-planned action, and of these, more than 210 policemen. Ten police districts have been involved.
Background: Full police action against Lime-chain
– Exploitation of people
According to VG is the including three family members of Lime-chief Sajjad Hussain who has been arrested and charged with trafficking. Hussain was arrested and detained in August, charged just rough trafficking.
The penalty for serious trafficking is ten years.
– This is a complex issue that also deals with illegal work and illegal residence, says Vandvik.
– Can you be more specific on how the accused should have organized this network
– The is not right now for the sake of the investigation.
– Can you describe how human trafficking and forced labor has been happening?
– It’s all about how they have been treated . Working conditions they worked under, the conditions they had, wages, hours of work and level of independence and freedom, says Vandvik.
Went action against 29 stores simultaneously
In addition to trafficking and tax and VAT fraud, the police suspect insurance fraud.
– We go wide out because of suspected abuses in several areas, which applies to both profit-based exploitation of people and of our society, says Vandvik.
Vandvik says that all the shops in Limerick chain is comprised of action. It is conducted searches of 20 stores, and control actions against nine additional stores. The shops located in Rælingen, Oslo, Asker, Bærum, Sandefjord, Larvik and Ski.
Police say they went into action at once against the 29 stores to reduce the risk of destruction of evidence, and claims to have identified several people who should have been exploited for forced labor.
– Suspect comprehensive insurance fraud
police believe Limerick network has been “very well organized” and has also been doing “gross labor crime.”
– We believe it has been doing a gross exploitation of the welfare of our system, said Deputy Director Nav control East, May Snedsbøl.
She described a practice where “created fictitious employment” and where people are working “while they receive benefits from Nav”. It should also have been reported fictitious salary levels in the chain of employees to bring out more sickness and unemployment benefits from Nav.
At the Nav controller, several employees of Lime stores have refused to provide documentation and disappeared from site when they understood what purpose Nav had come.
Looking for traces of tampering
Also, the Tax Administration has contributed to today’s action with over 50 employees, more than 20 of these are computer experts to find traces of manipulation of the stores computer systems.
– It’s black compensation, black labor and conditions of work not in accordance with our legislation. Being able to track the money, as some have served on this will be our main task, said Jan Egil Kristiansen, who are tax crime boss in the tax authorities, at the press conference.
Raumarike police head work and collaborate with the Criminal Police, Economic Crime, Nav, Tax Administration, Customs, Immigration and Industry Administration in Oslo.
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