Police say many well-known hotels used by Russian prostitution ring

Police blame poor supervision by hotels

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Finnish police say that inadequate supervision by a number of hotels made it possible for widespread Russian prostitution in Finland. Police believe that an organisation under investigation has procured customers for about 150 women in 19 cities and towns in 2005 - 2007.
      "This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest procurement organisations that has been caught in Finland", says Seppo Sillanpää of the Helsinki police.
     
The women worked mainly in medium- to high-class hotels, many of which are part of established hotel chains. Apartments were also used for the purpose.
      "The activity of the pimps would not have been possible to this extent if the hotels had done a better job in their supervision", Sillanpää says.
      He points out that in one case, at the Hotel Scandic Rosendahl in Tampere, up to 15 customers visited one woman in a single day.
      "However, there were also places where the prostitute and her luggage were sent away after just a couple of customers."
     
Investigators say that the organisation generated a varying amount of income during its operations, but in the final stages, the monthly earnings were between EUR 70,000 and EUR 100,000.
      Sillanpää says that both the pimps and the prostitutes were of Russian origin. The number of women working for the group averaged between 5 and 8 at any given time, but at times, there were as many as 16.
      The dealings were directed by "operators", who took customers' telephone calls and directed them to the women. The women were advertised on the Sihteeriopisto website, although the on-line photographs did not always match the person in question.
     
The prostitutes paid the organisation between EUR 300 and EUR 500 a day, and EUR 10 to EUR 20 per customer to the "operator". The women's average earnings were small, and many of them actually went into debt.
      The women would spend between one and three days in any one location, because the organisation believed that customers would be attracted by variety.
      There were also rumours that the bosses would have beaten the women, but no evidence was found of any such violence.
     
Police suspect about 20 people of aggravated procurement.
      "The organisation is led by one man in St. Petersburg who has numerous people helping him. Three women recruited prostitutes to Finland. One of them has been remanded in custody, but we have not caught up with her superiors", Sillanpää says.
      Police say that the same group has sent prostitutes from Russia to other parts of Europe - particularly Britain and Norway. Sillanpää believes that the activities continue uninterrupted in the other countries.
      "We believe that the league has not operated in Finland for a couple of weeks now. I imagine that it will be back here again in six month's time in a new form."
     
Police have not reached the suspected leader of the organisation, because under its new criminal code, Russia does not interrogate its own citizens at the request of foreign police.
      "The change took place in the summer of 2006, when Russia began to reject our requests for assistance with respect to interrogations", says Lars Henriksson of the National Bureau of Investigation.
      "According to their interpretation, the interrogation of a suspect is possible only in cases involving crimes committed in Russia. This means that the indictment and investigation should take place completely in Russia."
     
Seppo Sillanpää says that the law allows Russians to commit crimes while abroad. He sees two possibilities for catching the main culprit.
      "We could give the information on our criminal investigation to Russian officials, who could continue the investigation there."
      "We could also ask that the suspects would be remanded in absentia. After that, if they are caught anywhere in the European Union, they can be sent to Finland."
     
Hotels mentioned in the investigation deny police claims of insufficient supervision.
      Vesa Saloranta, director of the Scandic hotels in Tampere says that such activities have been noticed, and that Scandic has worked together with the authorities for a few weeks now.
      Saloranta also says that the personnel at the Scandic Rosendahl and all other hotels in the chain have been given clear instructions on how to react to suspected pimping.
      Other hotel chains have also instituted measures to prevent the sex trade from taking root.
      Restel, which owns the Cumulus and Rantasipi chains, trusts its security system, as does Sokotel, which owns the Sokos Hotels chain and Radisson SAS hotels in Finland.
     
The Finnish Hotel and Restaurant Association issued a statement on Thursday saying that the association and its member hotels do not accept the practice of prostitution, pimping, and trade in humans in their hotels.
      However, Timo Lappi, managing director of the association, notes that supervision is not always easy, especially in hotels with large lobbies and many rooms. A customer's gender or nationality are not acceptable grounds for special scrutiny.
      Lappi notes that careful consideration is needed before any intervention.
      Supervision is also made more difficult by the fact that customers are increasingly paying for their reservations on line in advance, and appear at the reception only to pick up the room key.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Police in Salo change course on brothel investigation (15.1.2007)
  Police suspect some Helsinki Thai massage parlours of procurement (10.10.2007)

Links:
  Pro-Tukipiste (support for civil and human rights of individuals involved in sex work)

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