Two Bulgarians Get Jail Terms in Sweden for Running Begging Scheme

A Swedish court has sentenced two Bulgarian brothers to jail terms for running a begging scheme that involved exploitation of disabled and illiterate people, AFP reported on Friday.

The two brothers, aged 39 and 42, were convicted for human trafficking and were sentenced to three and three-and-a-half years in prison, respectively.

The Swedish court has found that the brothers “recruited, housed and exploited” five people, three of whom with severe disabilities, in a begging scheme on the streets of the city of Gothenburg, in southern Sweden, according to AFP.

An illiterate 21-year-old in a wheelchair, a blind 62-year old man and a 69-year-old pensioner were among the victims who had been promised to work in Sweden by the brothers but never touched the money they were given as beggars. According to estimates of the Swedish court, the brothers made over EUR 30,000 from the scheme between June and October last year, AFP said.

Last week, Sweden and Bulgaria signed a letter of intent for cooperation in the social policy area that calls for exchange of expertise in closing the channels for organized begging by Bulgarian citizens of Roma origin in Sweden.

Earlier this month, the government in Stockholm told Swedish citizens not to give money to beggars or let beggars’ children attend school, after the number of EU migrants on the streets of Sweden - mainly Roma from Romania and Bulgaria, but also from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary more than doubled, EurActiv reported earlier this month.

Between 3,400 and 4,100 EU migrants were begging in Sweden last spring, up from an estimated 800 to 2,000 a year earlier, EurActiv said, citing Swedish broadcaster SVT.

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