Mikko Nikkanen from Helsinki Police Department and Marko Heinonen from the National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) shed light on an ongoing investigation into a well-organised drug import and distribution operation in Helsinki on Wednesday, 4 October 2023. The drug ring is believed to have been run from abroad, presumably from Sweden or Turkey. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)
- Next Article Patient choice reform successfully reduces waiting times in Finnish public hospitals
THE NATIONAL BUREAU of Investigation (KRP) and Helsinki Police Department on Wednesday briefed the media on an ongoing pre-trial investigation into a drug trafficking ring suspected of smuggling hundreds of kilos of narcotics to Finland.
Police spokespeople described the criminal operation at a news conference as a “large-scale international project” that was led from abroad, presumably from Sweden and Turkey.
While the spokespeople said the ring is closely connected to a criminal organisation in Sweden, they declined to identify the organisation, saying only that Swedish men with ties to the organisation have been arrested as part of the pre-trial investigation. Helsingin Sanomat on Monday reported that Dödspatrullen, one of the more notorious gangs in Sweden, has had a role in the drug trafficking operation in Finland.
“Direct links to Swedish organised crime are a worrying sign for Finland. A crucial element of drug crime is violence and firearms, which are currently used at a low threshold in Sweden,” said Kimmo Sainio, a senior detective superintendent at KRP.
Also people from other countries are believed to have participated in the operation in Finland. During their months-long stays in the country, they took part in importing and handling the drugs and transporting the sales proceeds out of the country.
YLE on Wednesday reported that 30 people have been arrested during the investigation, 17 of whom remain in pre-trial detention. Mostly in their early-to-late 20s, the suspects include not only Finns and Swedes, but also British, Iraqi, Kosovan, Norwegian, Serbian, Somali, Turkish and Ukrainian nationals.
Most of the suspects did not live permanently in Finland. Those involved in the import and distribution of drugs in the country were mostly second-generation immigrants, according to KRP.
“The pre-trial investigation revealed that the group orchestrated the transport of more than 2.5 million euros in cash from Finland. The money was transported in lorries to, for instance, Turkey. Some of the drug payments were made with other means than cash,” said Mikko Nikkanen, the detective chief inspector in charge of the inquiry at Helsinki Police Department.
The investigation has also resulted in the seizure of significant amounts of cash and drugs, including 3.75 kilos of cocaine, 26.5 kilos of amphetamine, almost 97,000 pills of ecstasy and 9,500 pills of Oxycontin. The amounts account for anything between 13 and 98 per cent of the amounts the ring is believed to have brought into Finland since last October and November – 22 per cent for cocaine, 27 per cent for amphetamine, 66 per cent for ecstasy and 98 per cent for Oxycontin.
“In April, police apprehended the driver of a lorry that was transporting drugs, two recipients of the drug batch and several other suspects who were part of the group,” recounted Nikkanen. “During the arrests, several locations were searched and over 100 kilos of drugs was seized.”
While the investigation has showed that the imported drugs were distributed by people with ties to Finnish gangs, Nikkanen declined to comment on how many gangs have been implicated when speaking to Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday.
All of the drugs were brought into Finland from Sweden, some in lorries through northern Sweden. Drugs imported by the ring have been found not only in the capital region, but also in other parts of Finland, such as Oulu and Turku.
The pre-trial investigation was opened about a year ago following after police became aware of visits by Swedish men with gang ties to Finland. Marko Heinonen, a detective chief inspector at KRP, told Helsingin Sanomat that the men were seen in the company of people linked to local gangs in Finland.
The newspaper wrote that the reason for the links and visits started to become clear when police found 1.5 kilos of amphetamine and firearm parts in the vehicle of a gang-affiliated Finnish man.
KRP is continuing to investigate what it has described as a well-organised operation.
Even though the investigation was sparked by activities with people linked to local gangs, it has focused primarily on the activities of foreign suspects, Nikkanen stated to Helsingin Sanomat.
“We haven’t looked particularly deeply into street-level distribution. The focus has been on taking apart the organised crime structures. By doing that, we can have a bigger impact also on street-level distribution,” he explained.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
- Next Article Patient choice reform successfully reduces waiting times in Finnish public hospitals
Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
