The Gulf of Finland Coast Guard and the French border police have spent a year investigating how the suspects organised illegal entry. The case has also looked into potential human trafficking.
The smuggling routes stretched from India to Finland through Dubai, Kenya, Tanzania and Turkey, the Border Guard says. The journey continued from Finland to France.
Over 110 officials from Finland, France and Belgium took part in the operation on Monday morning. The majority of people—19—were detained in France, six in Finland and one in Belgium.
The head of investigation in Finland, first lieutenant Jukka Tekokoski, says that nearly all of the suspects are Sri Lankan nationals. Two have been granted Finnish citizenship. The group of suspects includes men and women. In addition to Finland, France and Belgium, some detainments and interrogations have been conducted in Britain. The main suspects have been resident in France.
According to the Border Guard, the profits from the crimes are suspected to be in the tens of thousands of euros for each person illegally brought into the EU.
The investigation began in Finland, when an illegal entry case came to light at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in December 2010. Then, two Sri Lankan women were being trafficked through Finland to France.
