A Helsinki resident who manufactured numerous weapons and explosives at home received a suspended one and a half year sentence in the Helsinki District Court on Friday.
In 2010–2016, the man had amassed an arsenal that included automatic firearms, gas pressure guns, and pepper spray. In addition, the man was found in possession of nine pipe bombs, two tasers and four detonation caps.
The man, described as a middle-aged Finn, had himself made weapons and explosives. He had also gathered information about exploding bombs and conducted test explosions at a nearby field.
He was convicted of aggravated firearms and explosives. In addition, the court convicted the man of drunk driving in 2017 and illegal use of the vehicle.
Weapons and explosives were found in the garage of the man’s home in Suutarila, in the northern Helsinki area near the Vantaa border, in 2016.
Police completed a preliminary investigation into the case the following year.
The man had been free pending trial.
Fake police uniform
A handmade copy of a police error was also found in the space.
The prosecutor alleged that the man had acquired a mask, bombs and guns to commit the crime.
However, the court dismissed the charge of preparing the crime because it could not be proved.
It estimates that the 23 pounds of explosives found in the man’s home would have been enough to make a bomb that, however, could have killed dozens of people and injured hundreds more. It could have caused the building structure to collapse and cause significant damage over a large area.
Still, the court found that mere possession of objects and substances was not sufficient to show that the man intended to carry out the attack.
Collected in “manic frenzy”
The man said he had collected thousands of items over the years a "manic frenzy", by ordering most of them online.
He claimed he intended to use the bombs as fireworks.
Numerous licensed weapons for sport shooting and hunting, as well as hundreds of legal fireworks, were also found in his house.
In addition to the police uniform, several other outfits were found in the man’s home, including a black uniform of Nazi officers. There were also mannequins with some outfits.
"There was a strange attraction associated with those costumes, ”the man told the court.
Source: The Nordic Page
