According to the police in Helsinki, weapons delivered to Ukraine have already ended up in the hands of Finnish criminals. These are, for example, assault rifles, said Chief Commissioner Christer Ahlgren from the National Investigation Bureau to Finnish radio Yle. “Weapons that were destined for Ukraine are already there found in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands been,” he was quoted as saying on Sunday.
The European police organization Europol warned in the summer that criminals could target weapons and ammunition, which Kyiv receives in large quantities as foreign military aid. “We have indications that such weapons are also finding their way to Finland,” said Ahlgren.
The smuggling routes are established. The arms trade is partly run by international biker groups, which the police classify as organized crime. the Rocker group Bandidos MC for example, we have representatives in every major Ukrainian city, Ahlgren said. The gateways to Finland are the ports, which are less monitored than the airports.
Ahlgren recalled the experience of the police after the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. From there, smuggled weapons reached many countries. “Ukraine has received large amounts of weapons and that is good. But we will be dealing with these weapons for decades to come. That’s the price we have to pay,” the senior police officer said.
