Thai berry pickers lived under difficult conditions and were in debt even before they started working, according to the prosecutor.
To the police, the berry pickers stated how they had to pay for accommodation, but had to sleep in the forest.
Now the couple in Västerbotten who own the company have been charged with nine cases of human trafficking.
– If we go far, there won’t be enough petrol. We have to stay in the forest and sleep there, because we can save both petrol, time and money, says one of the berry pickers in questioning.
With the help of a company in Thailand, a couple in Sweden recruited Thai berry pickers to Västerbotten to work. But according to the prosecutor, the berry pickers ended up in a dependent position on the couple and were in debt right from the start.
– I mean that the man and the woman have promised the berry pickers work with pay and working conditions in accordance with the Swedish collective agreement. In fact, the berry pickers have been stripped of their passports upon arrival in Sweden, have been in debt of over 20,000 kroner each for the journey here and have been dependent on the couple in relation to food and housing, says senior prosecutor Petra Götell.
Stayed 14 people in one room
At the beginning of August, a car with a berry picker was stopped as it was issued with a driving ban. When the police wanted to see identity documents, no one could produce them – their boss had collected all the passports, which made the police suspicious. Some time later, a number of internal alien controls were carried out.
“This was a thought-out method to be able to carry out the check in accordance with the Aliens Act while at the same time giving us an opportunity to talk to them without the suspect or other supervisors knowing about this,” the police write in a memo.
In September, roughly 40 of the berry pickers sought protection from a municipality. to get help, they did not dare to go back to the accommodation and were protected by the municipality in a safe accommodation.
A total of eight authorities cooperated in the investigation. When the police documented the berry pickers’ residences and conducted interrogations, several serious deficiencies emerged. Several berry pickers stated that they worked seven days a week.
A berry picker describes that the room they lived in was a little bigger than the room in which the interrogation took place – 14 berry pickers lived there together. The municipality described the living conditions as poor and the rooms had home-made bunk beds and mattresses.
In one residence there was no ventilation, so a hole had been drilled in the wall instead. Electrical wires hung in the showers, which were not at all safe according to the municipality’s building inspector.
Had to pay for accommodation – slept in the forest
In addition to the trip with overheads that were seen as a loan of just over 24,000 kroner, the berry pickers needed to pay for accommodation, food and petrol to carry out their work. In questioning, several berry pickers testify about how they were forced to sleep in the forest, to save on petrol.
– If we go far, there won’t be enough petrol. We have to stay in the forest and sleep there, because we can save both petrol, time and money, says one of the berry pickers in questioning.
– They said that you could not use money for petrol for more than 500 kroner, another berry picker stated in the interrogation.
Several of the cars were banned from driving and if they broke down, it was the berry pickers who had to pay for the repair, they state in questioning.
Charged with human trafficking
A total of around 150 berry pickers came to Sweden. Nine of these stayed behind and have told the police what they were up to from March last year until September. When the berry pickers raised the alarm, the couple who owned the berry company were arrested. Earlier this week, the couple was charged with nine counts of human trafficking.
– They have misled the berry pickers, who were in a difficult situation. I believe that it is a matter of human trafficking, alternatively human exploitation, serious crime. The offense concerned an activity that was carried out on a large scale and resulted in significant profit, says Petra Götell.