More than 30 people suspected of human smuggling across Finnish-Russian border

The Finnish Border Guard suspects 35 people of smuggling asylum seekers through the eastern border, Report informs via Yle, the Finnish Broadcasting Company.

Head of the Border Guard's crime prevention unit, Tomi Kivenjuuri, says that they are investigating both simple and large-scale crimes of the organisation of illegal entry into Finland.

In total, 25 criminal investigations have been opened. Of those cases, 21 are suspected of organising illegal entry into the country, and four cases are suspected of committing an aggravated crime.

Organising illegal entry often involves, for example, situations where transportation and documents are arranged for asylum seekers for a fee. The crime is punishable by a fine or a maximum of two years in prison.

Kivenjuuri says the suspects represent several nationalities. The most common are Iraqi and Syrian, followed by Russian.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) told Yle last week that more than 200 asylum seekers who have crossed into Finland at the eastern border have disappeared.

Criminal investigations related to illegal crossings from Russia have been open since the beginning of August. The majority of these investigations began in November and December of last year, when more than a thousand asylum seekers came to Finland through the eastern border.

Since August, about 1,300 asylum seekers from a total of 29 countries have come to Finland via Russia.