A routine passenger inspection at Helsinki-Vantaa airport in Finland has revealed an international human trafficking ring smuggling Kenyans to European countries.
According to news reports published by BNN, an international news organisation, on Tuesday, July 11, the syndicate was discovered after a Kenyan woman was arrested at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport using fake documents.
The airport security got suspicious when the woman, travelling from Paris, France, presented a Somali passport seeking asylum in Finland.
Helsinki-Vantaa airport told BNN that the woman's story while applying for asylum did not match the details in her passport.
According to the airport officials, a further probe after the suspect's fingerprints were taken revealed that she is a Kenyan national and passed through Turkiye, Spain, and France before arriving in Finland.
The woman was accompanied by a Somali national.
It has since emerged that the lady is among tens of vulnerable Kenyans who are smuggled to European Countries.
Criminals behind the syndicate charge between Ksh500,000 and Ksh850,000 to smuggle Kenyans out, mostly to European countries and North America.
“The group operated through contacts in various countries who provided travel arrangements, accommodation, transportation, and documents for the smuggled persons,” it was reported.
How the syndicated operate
The ring has perfected faking documents and established routes to evade detection by immigration officials.
“Some of the smuggled persons flew directly from Kenya to Finland using forged passports or visas.
“Others travelled through Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, or Germany using different modes of transport such as buses, trains, cars, or boats,” BNN reported.
According to European authorities, Kenyans apply for asylum in transit countries or use fake identities to cross borders.
Charges
The Kenyan woman will be charged with aggravated organization of illegal entry and if found guilty will serve a 6-year prison sentence.
She is also being considered for charges of registry offence and providing false personal information an offence carrying a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment.
Other Kenyans who had already secured asylum using the syndicate risk deportation upon conviction.
