Denmark: 95 arrested in human trafficking raid

An important police operation took place on the islands of Zealand and Lolland-Falste (Denmark), where, after five months of "intensive investigation", Danish National Police raided 62 addresses and arrested 95 people in a crackdown on a suspected human trafficking network.

Police estimate that around 300 people, mainly Romanian nationals, may have been exploited. “Our suspicion is that for each exploited person, they were making around 180,000 kroner. And if there have been 300 people through the system, we’re talking about 54 million kroner,” police spokesman Karl Erik Agerbro said.

Among the arrestees were also a Danish lawyer, a Danish accountant and a man with a Syrian background.

The action was carried out by a special task police force that worked closely with immigration authorities, the tax authority Skat, the Danish National Police and the Danish Centre against Human Trafficking. 

"The operation is over. We have the people we need, we think. We still need to verify the identity of some of them", Agerbo explained to the Danish newspaper Fyens Stiftstidende.

Of the 95 people arrested, 22 are suspected of being organizers of a human trafficking ring, and were also charged with fraud and document forgery.

They will face a preliminary closed-door hearing in a Lyngby court today, where a judge will decide whether or not they should be held in remand.

The persons who are not suspected of human trafficking are likely victims in the case, according to police, who believe that their identities could have been misused to commit crimes.