In the international drug scheme spanning several countries and that ran for several years, various types of narcotics were artfully concealed in the deliveries of Dutch flowers and houseplants. Finnish police have revealed a massive smuggling scheme that flooded the country with drugs from the Netherlands hidden in flower shipments.
According to the investigation, which saw police departments in Helsinki, Häme, Southeast Finland, and Ostrobothnia team up with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), at least 17 drug shipments took place between mid-2018 and May of 2020 to the tune of at least €20 million (nearly $24 million), national broadcaster Yle reported.
The main customers of what has been described as a "large, systematic drug import and transport organisation" were two separate criminal organisations based in the Helsinki region, one mostly made up of people from East Africa and the other mainly of people from the Middle East.
"This is a good example of what the organised drug trade and crime is like in the capital region at the moment: very international. In the past the drug trade was controlled by motorcycle gangs, but now groups of foreign origin have a really major impact", Senior Detective Superintendent Markku Heinikari of the Helsinki Police told national broadcaster Yle. According to the investigation, three of the 17 drug batches were passed through Finland to Stockholm, Sweden.