The police engaged in intensified field surveillance from 9 to 29 October 2017. In addition to normal surveillance, surveillance was targeted at the Internet, where drugs are distributed via so-called darknet anonymous sales channels.
All police departments and the National Bureau of Investigation participated in the surveillance. During the exercise, a total of 332 reports of an offence were made around Finland, 116 of which concerned online drug offences.
Reports of an offence were drawn up in the areas of the Helsinki Police Department (20), the Häme Police Department (20) and the Eastern Finland Police Department (17) in particular.
In the case of street surveillance, reports of a crime were recorded by the Central Finland Police Department (85), Southwest Finland Police Department (52) and Lapland Police Department (28) in particular.
Alongside the police departments, the National Bureau of Investigation was involved in operational activities and coordinated the surveillance at national level. Customs also contributed to the operation.
Weapons and cash were confiscated in addition to drugs
There were a total of 396 suspected offenders during the three-week surveillance operation, of whom 199 were apprehended, 67 were arrested and 19 were imprisoned.
During the surveillance, substances including 2.7 kilogrammes of amphetamines, 500 grammes of methamphetamine, 1,500 ecstasy tablets, 3.6 kilogrammes of marijuana and more than 300 Subutex tablets for opioid addicts were confiscated. Almost 2,500 Rivatril tablets (a newly prominent drug) were taken.
In addition to drugs, four firearms and around 30,000 euros of cash were seized. A total of 30 wanted persons were also apprehended during the surveillance.
Drugs becoming more common online
The online surveillance was mainly targeted at the Tor ‘Sipulikanava’ network. People who were selling drugs via this channel were arrested in various parts of Finland during the operation.
The Sipulikanava was closed on 1 November 2017 in a joint operation by the National Bureau of Investigation and Customs. Customs is investigating the matter as an aggravated drugs offence.
Chief Superintendent Teemu Saukoniemi of the National Police Board says that several aggravated drugs offences were uncovered during surveillance of the network, in addition to basic drug offences.
– Most of the suspects were young people born in the 1990s. This was the first suspected offence of some of those caught, he says.
According to Saukoniemi, one of the aims of the online surveillance operation was to develop the police's capacity to expose drug offences nationwide by introducing good practices from police units with previous experience of such actions.
- The results of the online surveillance exercise show that anti-crime measures should be targeted at online drug dealing alongside traditional drug crimes; I believe that online monitoring will be stepped up on the basis of these experiences, Saukoniemi says.
