Konna’s former head of the drug group Jari Aarnio appeared before the Helsinki District Court on Monday morning to prosecute the end of the murder of a Swedish and Turkish citizen in 2003.
According to the prosecutor, Aarnio had advance knowledge of the planned killer of Volga Ünsal and reported the plot to the Swedish police during the summer of 2003. The crime report also alleges that Aarnio had traveled to Finland in September 2003. Ünsal was murdered in October in Vuosaari’s apartment in eastern Helsinki.
"Aarnio did not even try to prevent the murder by the means at his disposal, but accepted it and let it happen," public prosecutor Mikko Männikkö said in court, adding that as a police officer, Aarnion should have acted to prevent it when he heard about it.
Aarnio is suspected of negligence in the crime, and the accusation is the first time such a crime has been prosecuted in Finland.
Aarnio: There is no information that Ünsal is in Finland
Aarnio, the former head of the Helsinki drug group, had previously been convicted of aggravated drugs and official misconduct. He arrived in court from prison, where he is serving a 13-year sentence.
"Aarnio had no knowledge of the murderer or the place, date or manner of the crime. He had no obligation to prevent the violation by law or status," Aarnio lawyer Riitta Leppiniemi told the court after the prosecutor read the charges.
According to Aarnio’s defense, the officials did not know that the victim of the murder had arrived in Finland to visit his friend in 2003.
"Swedish police had warned the victim of his childhood buddy. Knowing the risk, the victim came to visit this friend in Finland," Leppiniemi said. That acquaintance already had a previous conviction for contract killing.
Ünsal had been on a witness protection program in Sweden for fear of retaliation from underworld colleagues when he reported police information about the robbery at Arlanda Airport in 2002. He was also said to have chosen part of the robbery catch for himself.
Later, a childhood friend and three other men strangled him in Finland. Three Finns and one foreigner were later convicted of the crime.
Gang members and MP to testify
Last spring, the investigation office announced that it was investigating Vuosaari’s hit. In addition to Aarnio, police said they suspected the former gang leader and Aarno’s successor Keijo Vilhunen role in killing.
Vilhus had previously been investigated for murder, but the case never reached prosecutors. He has also denied his hand in the murder.
There are several police officers to testify during the trial, including the NBI Crime Chief Tero Haapala as well as officials from the Helsinki Police Department.
In addition to Vilhunen, the underworld character, Lauri "Late" Johansson is also expected to position.
Another interesting witness is the former police and the current member of the National Coalition Party, Kari Tolvanen, who headed the Helsinki Violent Crime Unit at the time of the murder and first investigated the matter.
The court will hear a total of about 40 witnesses in the trial, which is expected to end in early November.
Source: The Nordic Page