Customs recovers narcotics hidden inside children’s toys

Customs seized a large quantity of amphetamine found in two postal consignments in early 2023, said Customs in a press release on Thursday.

Customs started investigating the case after seizing about 0.5 kilograms of amphetamine found in two postal consignments that arrived in Turku from the Netherlands in January 2023.

The narcotics had been concealed inside children’s toys and other items. Two persons are suspected of the being responsible for the case. Customs apprehended one of the persons, and also seized a firearm at that time.

The suspects ordered narcotics from the Netherlands and sold them in the Tor network for at least the past year. Distribution of narcotics mainly took place in the Satakunta region, but also in other locations in Finland. The narcotics were paid for in virtual currencies, most often with Monero or Bitcoin. Web crime investigators at Customs examined domestic and foreign web services where narcotics were sold.

“Sale, distribution and ordering of narcotics from the Tor network to the drug market is an established and common practice. Contrary to common belief, the Tor network does not enable anonymous trade and payment traffic. A concerning fact is that, more and more often, we have to seize firearms from criminal suspects,” said lead investigator Tatu Suvikas.

Both suspects had been in fact held in pre-trial detention, but were subsequently released.

The preliminary categories for the criminal acts are aggravated narcotics offence, firearms offence, doping offence and medicine offence.

The preliminary investigation is ongoing, and the case will be transferred to the Prosecution District of Western Finland for consideration of charges in August.