(Dagbladet): Ten of the 18 people who were arrested today in the massive campaign against the leaders and organizers in retail Lime Minipris, is accused of gross human trafficking or involvement in this.
Dagbladet know that investigators earlier years has done extensive video interview of about seven persons believed to be victims of various degrees of exploitation in grocery stores. The victims, who are from Pakistan and Nepal, all considered as trafficking victims.
Five of the characters has appointed legal aid lawyers and get other assistance.
Suspect several types of fraud
After that Dagbladet experience investigating detectives several forms of exploitation of workers sourced from overseas:
• Several of the possible victims are listed as borrowers on large bank loans which in reality should have been used by traffickers.
• NAV and police suspect organized insurance fraud relating to, among other things, false sick leave of employees
• Some of the victims have otherwise been put into debt to “paid back” by working in shops or other places.
– Profit-based exploitation
At a press conference today would not the police go out with the number of aggrieved, but confirmed that a number of foreigners in practice should have been forced to work in Lime stores. – This case has revealed a profit based and structured use of both the victim and the community. The most serious is the gross exploitation of people in a vulnerable situation, said Police Chief Bear Vandvik by Raumarike police at a press conference this afternoon.
Police believe the compulsion among other things, the passing of the victim had work to pay traffickers for the journey to Norway – while the ID paperwork their were withheld.
– These are people who are very easy to utilize. They do not have network in Norway and risk very much, says Vandvik.
Dagbladet know that the police in recent months have also feared for the safety of the victims during the secret investigation. Considerable resources have also been used to clarify whether the version aggrieved party submits to questioning, their own.
– We’re working to find out what is instructed explanations, and who are real victims, says police lawyer Asmund Yli Dagbladet.
He says confirms that police are considering whether victims should be protected, so-called reflection period. It is a temporary residence permit to give victims adequate security in a difficult situation.
– Rough exploited
Aid lawyers for the victims that have so far been questioned, today would not go to content in explanations.
– When someone is considered victims in such a case it means that the police believe they are grossly exploited. But it is too early to get an overview of the whole and the full extent. Although police have worked long and this is yet in its early stages, says lawyer Lene Tønset Dagbladet.
She represents two of the alleged victims. Tønset reports that police in today’s action also may have found your way to new people who may turn out to be victims.
– It can not be excluded. It was certainly a shock to some of them today suddenly come in contact with the authorities, as it may take time to gain confidence that Norwegian police have someone who can help them and that they can work with, says bsitandsadvokaten.
In addition to the criminal case, it may eventually get compensation lawsuits from victims.
– Economic is one element of this. Evidence indicates that there is a basis for claims by the victims, said Tønset
Previously convicted of abuse
Lime Minipris was founded by dissidents from Norway Group wild and Spar chains for just over two years ago . The Hussain brothers spearheaded conducted a number of Norwegian-Pakistani merchants rapid rebranding of its stores and acquired a number of new facilities. With a remarkably rapid expansion to around 30 shops were the fresh chain a significant competitor to the more established, evening and Sunday open chains in Norway.
One of the main accused who was arrested today, Sajid Hussain (38) has previously been linked to illegal use of foreign workers in the grocery industry.
In 2001 he was sentenced to eight months in prison in Oslo District Court, having spent six workers from Nepal and Pakistan who stayed illegally in Norway. The illegal labor identified during assessments of what it once was wild and Spar stores.
38-year-old brother, Sajjad Hussain (37), was arrested three weeks ago and charged for serious trafficking ahead of big action was being planned, because the police feared that a journey abroad was in fact an escape. Also 37-year-old, who is the manager and owner of the franchise company Lime Minipris AS, is charged with serious trafficking.
Investigated responded million
In April revealed Dagbladet that Sajjad Hussain was under investigation for large moms – and tax evasion after raids at shops he previously ran as wild and Spar branches in 2010, before Lime-profiling started.
Tax Crime Unit by tax authorities believed it to have uncovered millions in illegal sales at Hussain’s former stores – and private consumption of luxury automobiles and real estate purchases that far from matching reported income. According to an indictment from Raumarike police gained Hussain personally in 2004-2009 about 8.1 million more than he had stated in the tax return.
The prosecutors therefore requested major encumbrances on the businessman’s house and vehicles in Oslo . When Dagbladet interviewed Hussain in the spring, he stated that the whole accusation was wrong and that new assessments of the vouchers would solve this.
One element of the tax was to calculations by the Tax Crime indicating that Hussain up to 2010 must have had unregistered employees to be operational throughout the opening hours. Hussain claimed investigators had not taken into account that he should have been working 14-18 hours a day.
It was in the afternoon is not clear how Sajid Hussain or the other 17 people arrested stance on the new indictments. Sajjad Hussain’s lawyer, John Christian Elden, has previously stated Dagbladet that the client believes the indictment in reality concerns disputes about wages.
No comments:
Post a Comment