The Finnish police conducted a special control operation with a focus on narcotics from 17 to 30 October. All police departments nationwide participated in accordance with local plans and taking specific local characteristics into account.
For instance, in the Ostrobothnia police department district, the ongoing Central Ostrobothnia youth project focussed on drug crime committed by young people under 18 years of age.
During the special operation, of the total of 276 sites inspected, 137 were apartments, 88 vehicles and 51 others. The highest number of operations, 56, were carried out in the Helsinki Police Department’s district.
In total, as many as 328 reports of an offence were recorded, 425 persons were suspected of an offence,
the police conducted 298 personal searches (frisks and bodily searches), apprehended a total of 158 people as suspects of an offence, arrested 25 of them and detained 8. The total number of house searches was 203.
Cannabis was the most commonly found and seized drug in all parts of the country. Cannabis plants and ecstasy were listed separately by item. Cocaine was only seized in Helsinki Police Department’s district,
while methamphetamine was seized in the districts of Western Uusimaa and Ostrobothnia police departments. The total seized quantity of pharmaceuticals classified as narcotics was 16,344 tablets.
The special control operation also revealed other types of crime, specifically driving while intoxicated (51 cases), aggravated cases of driving while intoxicated (2) and driving without a licence (17 cases).
Eight firearms offences were detected alongside six cases of possession of an object or substance suitable for injuring another person, three suspected cases of theft, two receiving offences and individual cases of other types of offences.
Police departments will communicate more detailed information about the local results in accordance with their plans.
