Finland uncovers €2m worth of smuggled marijuana

Finnish Customs, cooperating with police, had uncovered about two million euros worth of marijuana smuggled from Latvia, and 15 suspects had been found involved in the suspected criminal offenses, said the customs on Wednesday, reported Xinhua.

The police suspected that a new type of organized criminal group in Finland is behind the case.

According to the preliminary investigation, an organized criminal group operating in Finland has coordinated the import of marijuana from Latvia and distributed drugs in Finland. Drug offenses are suspected to have occurred between December 2019 and December 2020, said the customs in a press release.

Authorities seized a total of more than 110 kilograms of marijuana, 70,000 euros in cash and two pieces of firearms. In addition, a total of more than 100 cannabis plants were seized from two detached houses.

The street value of the seized drugs worth about two million euros, said the customs.

Kimmo Sainio, director of investigation at National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), said that the criminal group operated in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area uses Mantaqa as its name.

According to previous investigations, members of Mantaqa were known to have engaged in illegal debt collection, violent resistance to officials, firearms crimes and others, said the customs.

The investigation linked to Mantaqa revealed that a total of 15 suspects have been involved in criminal offenses, ten of them still in custody.

"The criminal group has acted systematically and professionally, including using encrypted messaging applications for messaging and trying to cover up the financial gain from crime," said Sainio.

The case is now being transferred to the prosecution area of Southern Finland for prosecution, according to the customs.