Denmark’s biggest-ever case of human trafficking: Sees guilty verdicts

13 people were found guilty, Monday, 14 March, in the so-called ‘hornet’s nest affair’, Denmark’s biggest-ever case of human trafficking in which hundreds of Romanians were enticed to Denmark with the promise of work, but after arriving here and given Danish social security numbers and access to the Nem ID banking system were forced to buy expensive mobile phones on credit and lease cars which were sold, leaving behind an estimated DKK 40 million of debt, writes seven59.dk and b.dk.

12 were given jail sentences ranging from 1 to 7 years with deportation to follow, while the 13th is a Danish national who can’t be deported.

Partners in crime?

A number of the victims have testified that they were promised work in this country but were subsequently threatened and beaten when they arrived here. They also claimed they were forced to live in squalor and had to look for food in trashcans.

‘ED’, the man identified by the prosecution as the ‘kingpin’ of the affair, has repeatedly claimed in court that the victims were fully aware their identity would be misused for criminal purposes and therefore they were never trafficked, but were ‘partners in crime’. He’s also admitted to helping up to 1,000 Romanians falsely obtain Danish personal identity cards (CPR) with forged employment contracts.

Read the article on the Danish news site b.dk here and dr.dk here

universitypost@adm.ku.dk

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