Minor suspected of arson at Ylitornio hotel – building known from human trafficking case
Lapland police suspect a person under 18 years old from outside the area of deliberately setting fire to the old Aavasaksa hotel building in Ylitornio. The matter is currently being investigated as damage to property.
Minor suspected of arson at Ylitornio hotel
Lapland police suspect a crime in the hotel fire that broke out in Ylitornio on Wednesday, according to yle.fi. The empty former hotel-restaurant caught fire in the afternoon in Aavasaksa. No one was injured in the fire.
Police announced on Thursday that based on technical investigation and interrogations, the fire should be suspected as deliberately set. The suspect is a person under 18 years old, described as being from outside the area. According to police assessment, the intention did not appear to be the destruction of the building, but rather a matter of playing with fire. The investigation charge is currently damage to property, but it may be specified as the pre-investigation progresses. Police are not providing further information on the matter at present.
Several rescue units from both Finland and Sweden were dispatched to extinguish the fire.
The building is owned by Kriston kiinteistöt oy. Owner Ulla Kristo declined to comment when reached by telephone, and did not take a position on the extent of the damage or the future use of the building.
Ylitornio municipality's technical director Jarmo Jaako describes the building as problematic. According to him, the vacant property next to the border bridge and main road has been experienced as an eyesore. Jaako estimates demolition costs at current prices to be in the region of around half a million euros.
The building is best known as hotel-restaurant Rajahovi and has also served as a motel, food shop and hairdresser's premises. In recent years it has been empty since the berry company Polarica ended the accommodation of its Thai berry pickers in the building approximately four years ago following an investigation launched by police.
Polarica is accused of multiple human trafficking crimes. Pre-investigation materials from the human trafficking case reveal that the building was in extremely poor condition when the pickers were accommodated: there were visible moisture damage in the interior spaces, ventilation systems were not functioning, and indoor air quality was assessed as extremely poor. Rovaniemi environmental health protection placed the premises under a use ban in accordance with the health protection act in 2022. The sentence in the case of Polarica managing director Jukka Kristo, who is accused of aggravated human trafficking, will be announced next Monday.
Source: Google News FI — Crime (fi)