Case of aggravated procurement goes to prosecutor in Helsinki
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The police in Helsinki have completed their preliminary investigation into a case in which a 38-year-old man of Estonian origin is suspected of having pimped at least 15 women in several residences in Helsinki.
The man suspected of aggravated procurement has been held in custody since early December.
According to Det. Insp. Seppo Sillanpää, behind the operation is an Estonia-based crime organisation, which runs other types of illegal activities as well. In the investigation in question, however, the Helsinki police have merely concentrated on the alleged pimping in Finland. There is only one suspect in the case.
According to the police, the women that were brought over from Estonia have been procured in eight different addresses in central Helsinki and in the district of Kallio since the spring of 2007. The women’s services were advertised through the Internet.
“The addresses where the selling of sex took place were changed from time to time. Simultaneously one or two flats were used”, Sillanpää explains.
According to the police, the women were recruited from Estonia using newspaper ads.
“The ads did not directly say that the work in question was prostitution, but between the lines the women were able to conclude the true nature of the offered job”, Sillanpää continues.
Each woman has had between one and ten customers per day, the police say. The pimp is suspected of having earned a minimum of EUR 156,000.
According to the Finnish law, the purchasing of sex from a victim of procurement is a crime, but the police have not looked into the customers’ involvement in the case.
According to Sillanpää, to find out who the buyers of sex were, the police would have to carry out tracing of telephone records. Permission for such an activity, however, would not be granted for such a minor offence.
On the other hand, wiretapping was used to obtain the crucial evidence of aggravated procurement.
The man suspected of aggravated procurement has been held in custody since early December.
According to Det. Insp. Seppo Sillanpää, behind the operation is an Estonia-based crime organisation, which runs other types of illegal activities as well. In the investigation in question, however, the Helsinki police have merely concentrated on the alleged pimping in Finland. There is only one suspect in the case.
According to the police, the women that were brought over from Estonia have been procured in eight different addresses in central Helsinki and in the district of Kallio since the spring of 2007. The women’s services were advertised through the Internet.
“The addresses where the selling of sex took place were changed from time to time. Simultaneously one or two flats were used”, Sillanpää explains.
According to the police, the women were recruited from Estonia using newspaper ads.
“The ads did not directly say that the work in question was prostitution, but between the lines the women were able to conclude the true nature of the offered job”, Sillanpää continues.
Each woman has had between one and ten customers per day, the police say. The pimp is suspected of having earned a minimum of EUR 156,000.
According to the Finnish law, the purchasing of sex from a victim of procurement is a crime, but the police have not looked into the customers’ involvement in the case.
According to Sillanpää, to find out who the buyers of sex were, the police would have to carry out tracing of telephone records. Permission for such an activity, however, would not be granted for such a minor offence.
On the other hand, wiretapping was used to obtain the crucial evidence of aggravated procurement.
Helsingin Sanomat