In 2021, the number of customs offenses was at its lowest in eight years. This is mainly due to the COVID-19 situation, which caused a decline in passenger travel, but there is also a wider change behind it.
– The social impact of the fight against customs crime increased last year, although the total number of customs offenses decreased. There are always annual variations in the impact, but the trend is that customs offenses are changing and operations are more organized and professional than ever, says Hannu SinkkonenExecutive Director.
– The increasing complexity of criminal investigations requires more resources than before to enable technical and network investigations. This also means that the competence profile of forensic investigators is changing. Finnish Customs must also be part of this development. Professional customs crimes take advantage of the legal structures of international trade, and our close international cooperation between the authorities plays an important role in exposing these violations, Sinkkonen continues.
The largest amount of snuff that is ever seized each year
Customs will seize 9,104 kilograms of snus in 2021, which is about 2,000 kilograms more than a year earlier and the largest amount ever. The largest consignments of snus were smuggled into the Finnish market, mainly across the land from northern Sweden, but seizures were also made in shipping. The sale and smuggling of snus has changed and is now carried out mainly by professional criminals in Finland.
Customs seized less than a year ago, a total of 660,000 cigarettes. Cigarettes are mainly smuggled into Finland in smaller quantities; particularly from Russia, and the quantities seized have been affected by COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The social impact of customs crime prevention increased
The social impact of customs crime prevention varies from year to year. In 2021, the impact was about 70 million euros, while in 2020 it was about 57 million euros. Most of the social impact, EUR 32.1 million, came from the proceeds of crime.
The most significant part of the impact of the fight against financial crime was the losses from the investigated criminal cases, which increased to EUR 13.9 million.
The number of tax frauds is decreasing
In 2021, Customs uncovered 568 cases of tax fraud, 96 of which were serious. This is less than in 2020, when 917 tax frauds and 98 serious tax frauds were committed. The number of petty frauds decreased, especially due to the decrease in passenger traffic.
Seizures of drugs and narcotics are on the rise
The number of seized drugs almost quadrupled from the previous year to more than 1,537,000. The increase is explained by a few large seizures of nicotine bags. The number of drug offenses, on the other hand, was lower than in the previous year: there were 931 drug offenses uncovered.
The number of drug seizures was double that of the previous year, about 433,500 tablets.
Heavy goods and mail play a significant role in the import of both medicines and narcotics.
Seizures of cocaine and amphetamines increased
In 2021, customs will seize 710 kilograms of drugs, which is almost the same amount as a year earlier. The quantities seized clearly showed an increase in marijuana use and a decrease in hashish use. The total amount of marijuana seized was about 260 pounds. Only 3.5 kilos of hashish were seized. Customs has seized 200 to 300 kilograms of marijuana in recent years.
The global popularity of cocaine is also reflected in the increase in substance use in Finland. The amount of cocaine seized by customs rose to a record 55 kilograms; five times more than in the previous year.
In 2021, the amount of amphetamine seized rose to 80 kilograms, despite COVID-19 restrictions, compared to about half in 2020.
The amount of khat in Customs seizures fell again – about 276 kilos were seized, the lowest amount in 12 years.
– The importance of international cooperation, for example in the framework of Europol, has become increasingly important in the prevention of customs offenses. The COVID-19 situation highlighted the importance of preventing cybercrime; international trends are gaining ground in Finland faster than before and the importance of international data exchange and data mass analysis has grown, sums up Petri LounatmaaExecutive Director.
Annex: Customs crime prevention statistics 2021
Source: Customs
Source: The Nordic Page