Finnish police found weapons from Ukraine in criminal gangs' possession

The Central Criminal Police of Finland found signs that the weapons taken out of Ukraine are already in Finland. Commissioner Christer Ahlgren, head of the police department for combating organized crime, told the Finnish national broadcaster Yleisradio Oy (Yle) about this.

According to Algren, the police have information about assault rifles brought to Finland from Ukraine. Law enforcement agencies do not want to disclose more detailed information while intelligence is being collected.

“Weapons brought from Ukraine have also been found in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands,” the commissioner said.

Criminal gangs, according to information available to the police, are showing great interest in weapons supplied to Ukraine, and are considering, among other things, the possibility of organizing smuggling after the end of the war, the commissioner said.

In Finland, according to a police spokesman, there are three of the world's largest motorcycle gangs, one of them - Bandidos MC - has branches in every major city in Ukraine. To organize smuggling, according to him, there are all conditions, including proven routes and well-established connections, but the police are aware of this and are ready to take action when the need arises.

In July, the EU police service, Europol, said that criminal groups, as well as refugees, were smuggling weapons out of Ukraine. Europol mentioned caches in the border areas intended for the transfer of arms consignments. The department said that weapons exported from Ukraine could fall into the hands of criminal groups.