A Finnish company’s information misused in drug shipments – Customs seizes four kilos of cocaine
Customs uncovered an attempted smuggling of about four kilos of cocaine in autumn 2025. Packages that contained narcotics were being sent from Vantaa to Australia using information belonging to a Finnish company. The company however is not complicit in any way. Customs has investigated the case as an aggravated narcotics offence.
Customs officers uncovered an aggravated narcotics offence when they were controlling postal parcels bound abroad in the facilities of an express freight company in Vantaa. The second suspect in the case had left the drug packages to the express freight company for transport. Customs officers seized about four kilos of cocaine which they found in the packages bound for Australia. Two suspects were detained the following day in Helsinki. Customs also seized close to 10 000 euros in cash found in the apartment of the suspects.
– The case in which charges are now being weighed shows that criminals not only see Finland as a target country with high sales margins, but also as a transit country for shipments of narcotics, and as part of the complex logistics chain in the global drugs market, says lead investigator Tuomas Korhonen.
The seized cocaine was strong, and the street value of a cut quantity would have been almost 750 000 euros in Finland. The price in Australia would have been considerably higher, as the price for a gram of cocaine in Australia is among the highest in the world. The quantities of narcotics that Customs has seized, especially those of cocaine and marijuana as well as narcotic medicines, have increased considerably in comparison to last year.
Bystander companies used for covering up criminal activity
A family company in Riihimäki was indicated as the sender of the packages. The company has no connection with the criminal case under investigation.
– It looks like businesses that are honest and complete bystanders are being used in covering up criminal activity. Companies’ transport units as well as their business details can be misused. We have also dealt with cases where information regarding private individuals who have had nothing to do with criminal activity have been used in criminal offences, says Hannu Sinkkonen, Director of Enforcement.
When the case was under preliminary investigation, it came to light that the suspects had previously sent a package to Australia in the name of the same bystander company. Finnish Customs requested the Australian Border Force to control the shipment which was not found to contain any narcotics.
The suspects are Albanian citizens and remain detained. The case will be forwarded to the Prosecution District of Southern Finland for consideration of charges.