The forces have been linked to, among other things, drug, violence and traffic crimes.
The activity of such gangs has increased, especially in the capital, and the police receive reports of key members almost daily. Such activity may have gone unnoticed by the general public Mark HeinikariDetective Chief of the Helsinki Police Department.
He revealed that police have seized numerous firearms from gang-affiliated people earlier this year, including three in one night in January. Considerable amounts of cash and small amounts of narcotics have also been found on gang members.
Most of the gang members are first- or second-generation immigrants who were either born or obtained citizenship in Finland.
On Tuesday, the Helsinki Police Department revealed one gang-specific preliminary investigation, which consisted of almost twenty crimes committed in 2021–2022 and 23 18–19-year-old suspects. The suspected leader of the ring is a 24-year-old man who has previously been convicted of illegal threats and traffic offences.
The man is suspected of firing shots at a 25-year-old man and wounding him in the leg, suspected of being in Vuosaari, Helsinki due to a debt dispute. Two younger men, aged 18 and 19, are also suspected of crimes related to the case.
The leader of the group is also suspected of shooting members of another gang from a car at the same time outside a neighborhood fast food restaurant.
He was arrested and detained after the robbery last fall, apparently connected to a months-long attempt to extort money from the 26-year-old victim. According to the preliminary investigation, the man has continued to give orders to gang members for pretrial detention as part of a plan to harm the 26-year-old victim and their family members.
He is thus suspected of preparing a gross crime against life or death.
The suspects in the case are also suspected of aggravated drug crimes, sexual crimes against children, and firearms crimes, and investigators seized two handguns, four long-barreled firearms, and one assault rifle.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page