Berry picker trafficking suspect released

The 43-year-old man held on suspicion of trafficking Bulgarian berry pickers to Sweden has been released as there was not enough evidence to prove his guilt, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

• Woman and child forced into 'frightening' crash (17 Jun 13)
• Afghan refugees break hunger strike in Boden (13 May 13)
• Care provider 'exploited immigrants': report (5 May 13)

“His story is that he has brought his family over to pick blueberries, that they have picked for just for personal use and that there hasn’t been any shared enterprise,” said prosecutor Annika Bokefors to local paper Upsala Nya Tidning (UNT).

The man, a 43-year-old Bulgarian resident, was arrested on July 19th after allegedly luring three other Bulgarians into coming to Sweden with the promises of a good salary, a home, and a job.

But instead the workers were brought to a campsite in Mehedeby, south of Gävle, with no running water or bathroom facilities.

However, according to the Uppsala prosecutor, the police investigation has come up with nothing that proves that the man has actually committed the crime he has been accused of.

Neither does the prosecutor believe that any further investigation into the matter will uncover any such proof, reported the paper.

The man has faced similar accusations before in Sweden, but the charges were dropped at that time too due to lack of evidence.

TT/The Local/rm
twitter.com/thelocalsweden