3 Lithuanians, Finn sentenced for drug smuggling

The Helsinki District court on Friday sentenced three Lithuanian men and a Finn to different prison terms for smuggling 10 kilograms of methamphetamine from Lithuania to Finland.

Another Finnish woman, who was also accused and arrested earlier in this case was, however, acquitted of charges, local media reported.

A Lithuanian who supervised the smuggling activities has been awarded eight and a half years imprisonment while two other Lithuanians got seven years imprisonment and six-and-a-half year imprisonment respectively.

The rest convict, a Finnish national, was also sentenced for five-and-a-half years for his involvement in the smuggling case.

According to the case, five people – two Finns and three Lithuanians, were accused of smuggling methamphetamine from Lithuania to Finland.

The Customs authorities in cooperation with law enforcing agencies arrested them and recovered more than 10 kilograms of methamphetamine worth about EUR 420,000.

Customs received criminal intelligence in April 2017 concerning a drug smuggling operation going on at that time. Based on the information, Customs launched an operation that resulted in the arrest of five persons and the seizure of 10,533g of amphetamine and 7,000 euros in cash in Helsinki.

In connection with the case, Customs officers conducted house searches and seized a small quantity of other narcotics, and found a small cannabis farm.

The methamphetamine seized by Customs was smuggled from Lithuania to Finland and was handed over to a person in Helsinki who waited for the consignment.

The content of the seized methamphetamine was 39-42 per cent. Had the consignment been extended, it would have produced at least a double quantity of methamphetamine worth more than 420,000 euros in the street market.