-from hs.fi-

By Helsingin Sanomat
League allegedly smuggled over 20 million worth of illegal substances

The drug crime unit of the Helsinki police reported on Thursday that they had broken up an exceptionally large criminal organisation, which had smuggled 3,000 kilos of cannabis resin and 20 kilos of cocaine into Finland in recent years.
The smuggling operation is believed to have begun in 2002. The drugs were reportedly brought into Finland 300 to 500 kg at a time in lorries from The Netherlands, hidden inside legitimate cargoes.
The transport companies were not Finnish, and police say that the drivers were in on the scheme.
The drug shipments were unloaded into smaller vans at ordinary loading areas in and around Helsinki. From there the drugs were taken to hiding places in forests in the Helsinki region and in different parts of the south of Finland.
A group of four people on mountain bikes would wait for the van in a location agreed upon in advance. They would load about 20 kilos of drugs in their backpacks and take them to their forest hiding places.

A drug dealer who wanted to buy drugs from the wholesaler would be given a map where the location of the hideaway was marked in return for the money. There were several hiding places in Helsinki and nearby areas.
The drugs were sold mainly in the Helsinki region and the south of Finland.
Police say that they do not believe that the existence of the organisation would have led to an increase in the number of drug users in the Helsinki area.

The main suspects are two brothers - a 31-year-old businessman and a 37-year-old musician. The older brother had been on a police wanted list for four years before he was arrested. A third suspect is a 40-year-old entrepreneur.
All three are native-born Finns from the Helsinki region. Police say that they have close ties with Central Europe and international drug dealers.
The main perpetrators had set up a number of cover companies, allowing them to move money abroad more easily. The companies were listed as doing consulting work in data processing and programme design.
During the investigation, police have confiscated EUR 310,000 in cash, in addition to 23 kilos of hashish, two kilos of cocaine, a number of cars, guns, motorcycles, as well as jewellery and watches worth more than EUR 100,000.

Police believe that the group had transported drugs worth a total of about EUR 20 million. Investigators estimate that about EUR 10 million in profits were made.
According to police, a number of women were involved, who were “mainly partners of the main perpetrators”, and who were involved in the money laundering side of the operation.

Police said that it was exceptional that all of the suspects were Finns, with no apparent connections to Estonia or Russia.
According to Chief Inspector Jari Aarnio, the organisation was held together through intimidation and blackmail.