Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 1 Contents

3 Editorial 4 Crime overview 5 Customs Investigation 7 Online crime prevention 8 Illegal online trade 9 Snus – history and regulations 10 Snus cases and seized snus 10 Snus from Haparanda 11 Snus smuggling gang 12 Aggravated tax fraud using forged customs documents 13 Cigarettes from Latvia 14 Smuggling GBL 15 Sipulikanava – unrestricted narcotics sales in Tor network 16 Narcotics offences and precursors 18 Aggravated narcotics offences by men from Lithuania 18 Pharmaceuticals classified as narcotics, pharmaceuticals, doping 21 Doping substances from Bulgaria 21 Customs Laboratory tests and analyses 22 End of an online store 23 EU K9 Unit Network – international cooperation in canine operations 24 CBRNE – presentation of ongoing development activities 26 Product safety controls – toys and vegetables form majority of rejections 27 Manu – the Customs sniffer dog of the year

Executive Editor Statistics Contributing writers Neffling Jonna Rakshit Sami Soini Saila Helin Jarkko Pakkanen Riikka Hellsten Erno Piirainen Angelika Editor in Chief Translation Hirvonen Esko Pitkäniemi Mika Hirvonen Esko AAC Global Järna Katrin Pylkkänen Ahti Kaario Reino Rakshit Sami Subeditor Layout Kallio Janne Ryyttäri Lasse Piirainen Angelika Jalo Tuuli Kangas Paula Sorvali Jyri Kunnari Tuomo Sulander-Seppänen Tiia Photographs Publisher Käsnänen Arja Szilvay Ilmari Cooperation partners Enforcement Department of Lukkarinen Pasi Tuulenkari Kimmo Customs Finnish Customs Mansikkamäki Timo Typpö Saulo

ISSN 2242-3265

Cover T2 terminal in the West Harbour of Helsinki

2 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 Editorial

What next? (so what or what next?)

mutual competition. At says, virtual reality, artificial intel- the same time, managers ligence and robots will not take and supervisors need to over our work. These will certain- see to it that daily tasks ly offer much help, as long as we offer motivation and that can harness them to support us. employees are allowed We also need to be patient. If we to develop their compe- take digital leaps that are too long tence. This also requires and rush into things unnecessar- that we adopt new tech- ily, our operational development Yet another year is behind us. Yet nologies and continue to learn. cannot keep up with technological another year that can be charac- The world around us is chang- advancement. The thing is that work terised by “less is more.” In addi- ing and evolving – how about us? that requires interaction between tion to finally being able to stop We are no longer able to foresee people and will be done by actual our budget deficit for the first time upcoming changes in our operating people. during this decade, our results were environment. Can we ready our- However, we need to start in- once again excellent. I would like to selves for changing situations and vesting in the methods and skills thank all our employees in the cus- are we able to react quickly when in which Customs specialises and toms enforcement sector for a job necessary? Tools and skill require- which we can turn into national (in- well done. Although there are al- ments develop along with tech- ternational even) spearheads. These ways changes, with the next ones nologies and understanding. Are we areas where we are already good at already being on the drawing board, capable of continuous development and where we want to be pioneers some of which are a success, while and, in particular, advancement? Are in the future are certainly related to some are waiting to be implement- we ready to carry out more de- data – its procurement, classifica- ed, our employees are always com- manding tasks, more independently? tion, assessment and analysis. mitted and productive! This is sim- More and stricter requirements Some data is given to us, some ply incredible! will be set to ensure that authori- we need to retrieve from our cus- At long last, we are starting to ties comply with legislation. Can we tomers, and some we also need to see new faces in our local work- still have an impact on our work in collect without the target’s know- ing communities. By holding on to order to lighten the conventional ing. This applies to all enforcement these new customs officers and ways of working and our work pro- sectors, in which the systematic integrating them into our units, we cesses? Government resources will and comprehensive collection of can make sure that we only lost not increase. How can we ensure data will be emphasised in order one generation during our ten-year that our employees are motivated to maintain our high level of quality financial slump. and engaged under heavier work- and productivity, also in the future. Recruitment processes will con- loads? tinue at the same pace this year So many questions, so few an- Thank you all for our experiences and as well, and every one of us needs swers. I hope that we are all ready accomplishments in 2018! to ensure that our working com- to move on and to find proper so- munities maintain their welcom- lutions, even if not all of these ques- Sami Rakshit ing atmosphere, bringing people tions have straightforward answers. Director of Enforcement together and encouraging others to No matter what anyone else

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 3 Crime overview

The total number of customs of- gling is still going strong, for exam- Classic narcotics have kept their fences investigated by Customs de- ple, in the illegal trading of conven- position alongside new substances. creased in 2018 from the year be- tional narcotics, and cash has not Cannabis is still used frequently, fore, partly due to a decrease in the fully lost its importance in criminal but it seems that marijuana is more number of basic narcotics offences. activities. common than hashish. A record Considering the overview, the most amount of marijuana was seized, recent phenomenon in terms of Narcotics and compared with the past five years, customs offences is the exponential pharmaceuticals mainly from air passengers from increase in the illegal trading of snus, Spain. alongside an increase in new narcot- As the number of basic narcot- The amount of methampheta- ic substances. ics offences is decreasing, the num- mine decreased significantly last Regulation on snus resembles ber of aggravated narcotics offenc- year, even though amphetamine the prohibition, which has made es has remained high as in previous in general has a strong foothold snus an attractive commodity to years in cases investigated by Cus- among the most addictive narcot- smuggle for young amateurs and toms. One reason for this is that ics in Finland. This is also proven by also increasingly for profession- the smuggling of particularly dan- wastewater surveys. According to als who have previously operated gerous narcotics into Finland has these surveys, the use of cocaine in other fields. Arguably, the use of not slowed down. seems to be increasing. This is also snus is estimated to be more com- During many years, significant supported by the amount of co- mon now than when it was legal. amounts, even on an international caine Customs seized last year. In other words, prohibitions have scale, of new psychoactive sub- The total amount of narcotics not reduced any health problems stances have been discovered in seized by Customs decreased sig- but given birth to a new profitable Finland, mainly originating in China nificantly last year due to the lower criminal enterprise. but ordered from European mar- amount of imported khat. In recent years, customs offenc- ketplaces via the Darknet. es have increasingly shifted towards Last year, several furanylfentanyl Economic crime online trading. Due to its speed and cases were also uncovered where ease of use, it offers an excellent the darknet was used to order Last year, an increase in all forms setting for illegal purposes. In addi- substances. Fentanyls have already of tax frauds was the most notable tion, new cybercurrencies that are caused multiple deaths in Sweden change in economic crime investi- difficult to track have made it easier and Estonia. As regards pharmaceu- gated by Customs. Tax frauds have to pay for illegal articles than when ticals classified as narcotics, Sub- mainly involved high-tax products using conventional payment instru- utex which is imported from France such as cigarettes, snus and cars, as ments. However, old-school smug- seems to maintain its popularity. well as value added tax.

Crime overview 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Offences 9 879 9 656 9 581 9 409 8 943

Suspects of offences Foreigners total 4 225 4 010 3 216 2 902 2 919 All suspects 9 036 9 066 8 950 8 525 8 222

Impact of customs crime prevention (EUR million) Recovered proceeds of crime 17.50 10.70 19.30 28.00 26.10 Value of goods not seized 82.20 1.79 197.40 5.03 4.17 Evaded taxes 26.50 3.45 8.12 48.11 8.64 Total 126.20 15.94 224.82 81.14 38.91

4 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 ported from Russia hidden inside Customs offence investigations (number) – Illegal imports compartments in lorries and vans. in 2018 A positive change is expected, as Source: Customs Laboratory cigarettes were added to the list of strategic articles in Russia. Products 3 Alcohol on this list are monitored closely 427 Doping both in terms of imports and ex- 2 284 Narcotics ports. 544 Narcotics medicines Last year, the Federal Customs Service of Russia reported cigarette 456 Goods banned from the consumer market batches on their way to Finland that 680 Medicines it had stopped. 54 Unclassified narcotic substance 33 Other crime-related samples Impact of crime 353 Negative results prevention by Customs The impact of crime prevention by Customs has been monitored for 25 years using comparable indica- The number of environmental last year, making the year an excep- tors. This impact is assessed on the and intellectual property offences tion considering recent years. basis of criminal benefits recovered regarded as economic crime was The smuggling of tobacco prod- from investigated cases, the value fairly low last year. This applied to ucts has shifted strongly to snus. of articles not confiscated and the customs clearance and regulatory Smoking is becoming a part of his- amount of evaded taxes. offences and the illegal export of tory in Finland as, according to re- Last year’s results were a little defence materiel. cent studies, only 13% of men and higher than the five-year average. Currently, most alcohol cases women smoke cigarettes. Young After the first three quarters, the are uncovered in the EU single mar- people seem to be more interested value of this impact was more than ket, and they are mostly processed in snus than in cigarettes, and the EUR 25 million, even though this as tax cases in an administrative use of electronic cigarettes does figure does not include the signifi- procedure. As a result, alcohol is not appear to be increasing. cant amounts of bitcoins seized by rarely seized. However, more than Most illegally imported ciga- Customs. 2,000 litres of alcohol was seized rettes have been and are still im- .

Customs Investigation

Customs Investigation is part of the toms fiscal was in charge of investi- Customs to be developed in order Enforcement Department and con- gating customs offences and taking to respond to growing threats. In 50 sists of the Investigation Unit and legal action in Finland until 1972 years, the small investigation office the Intelligence and Analysis Unit. In when these tasks were transferred of a few officials has evolved into addition, it includes the Legal and In- to public prosecutors in conjunc- the current customs investigation ternational Affairs Unit which is in tion with the public prosecution organisation which employs 250 charge of international cooperation reform. After this, the Customs Of- people in investigation tasks and 70 and legality enforcement. fence Office was in charge of the people in intelligence and analysis In Finland, Customs has carried investigation of customs offences. tasks. out investigations related to cus- It was followed by the Investigation toms offences ever since a customs Office. The role of Customs fiscal was appointed in the Swedish Increases in international trade in law enforcement customs administration 330 years and tourism have resulted in an in- ago to investigate customs offences crease in customs offences, which The main objective of Customs and to take legal action. The cus- has forced crime prevention by Investigation is to be the lead-

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 5 ing authority in Finland in the pre- Security through societal relationships with compa- vention of economic crime and of cooperation nies and business communities. cross-border, professional and oth- Since customs offences are often er serious crime. Special expertise In Finland, Customs, the Finnish related to cross-border activities, in foreign trade and international lo- Border Guard and the Police of Fin- international relationships are vital gistics provides Customs with the land work closely together. This co- for Customs Investigation. For ex- best opportunities to combat cross- operation is based on the law and ample, 45–55% of suspects in cases border economic crime and illegal dates back to the 1920s. It is also investigated by Customs are non- trade. regarded as an exemplary form of Finnish. International cooperation As a special law enforcement cooperation within the EU, guar- has always been an important part authority, Customs is only in charge anteeing effective cooperation and of the basic activities of Customs, be of the investigation of customs of- the productive exchange of infor- it with the World Customs Organi- fences. Typical customs offences mation in the field of law enforce- zation (WCO), the European Union, include tax frauds related to foreign ment. These authorities have set Nordic cooperation or bilateral co- trade and excise taxation, and of- up a joint intelligence organisation, operation with different countries. fences related to import restric- and they also work together when Customs has entered into bilat- tions, such as trading on narcotics, maintaining contact with interna- eral agreements in order to ex- pharmaceuticals and doping sub- tional law enforcement agencies, change information and offer and stances. The activities of Customs such as Europol. request official assistance with have also expanded to the inves- Other important partners of crime prevention authorities in tigation of, for example, offences Customs Investigation include inter- many countries. In addition, Cus- related to intellectual property nal specialists of Customs in foreign toms participates, together with the rights and the environment, as well trade and corporate audits, the Finnish Border Guard and the Police as money laundering cases related Tax Administration and a group of of Finland, in the EU’s EMPACT pro- to these. other authorities that are responsi- jects, being in charge of its area of When tax collection tasks trans- ble not only for taxes, but also for responsibility. ferred from Customs to the Tax restrictions and control related to Customs also works locally with Administration, it was realised that imports and exports. the customs authorities of other Customs Investigation continues to Customs Investigation is often Nordic and Baltic countries and focus on customs procedures and linked with business life, which is Russia as part of its basic crime pre- processes, and it was decided that why Customs has built a compre- vention tasks. Furthermore, Cus- Customs continues to investigate hensive partnership network with toms has liaison officers for crime offences regarding tax types trans- private organisations, i.e. MOU prevention in Tallinn and St. Peters- ferred to the Tax Administration. partners. Using memoranda of un- burg who work as part of the Nor- derstanding (MOU), Customs has dic network of liaison officers and set up a common set of rules for as part of the Europol National Unit. the exchange of information and

Enforcement Department Director of Enforcement Department

Analysis Strategic Planning Investigation Corporate Audit Customs Enforcement and Intelligence and International Affairs

Commercial Risk International Economic Crime Investigation Southern Finland Goods and Traffic Control Management and Legal Affairs

Target Selection Helsinki Eastern Finland Product Safety Technology

Western and Northern Analysis Lappeenranta Resources Planning Finland

Tampere

Tornio

Turku

Hamina

National Surveillance Unit

6 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 with all the parties involved play an crime prevention involving important part. Continuity, also in exceptional circumstances, can only online trade be ensured through close cooperation and better integration with logistics operators. In order to be able to make decisions on whether controls are In 2018, Airport Customs X-rayed Cooperation helps to improve ex- necessary or unnecessary in the more than 347 000 international pertise and to exchange up-to-date correct part of the logistics chain, postal shipments. This ensures that information with other authorities. Customs requires electronic data the customs clearance procedure systems that support online trade and any bans and restrictions are Challenges set by changes processes and high-tech automat- followed. While the number of em- in online sales ed control systems that are able ployees remained unchanged from to combine, compare, identify and the year before, they X-rayed International online trade is increas- analyse different types of data. Cus- 47 000 shipments, or 16%, more ing rapidly. It uses different innova- toms may soon require new tools than in 2017. tive solutions, artificial intelligence, and powers to prevent international In total, 24 200 inspections were analytics and automated market- online crime that makes use of the made, resulting in more than 2 000 ing. The growth potential and op- structures of online trade, such as reports of offences. Narcotics of- portunities for using new technolo- narcotics offences, frauds and coun- fences were uncovered the most in gies of online trading are manifold terfeit products. 2018, comprising more than half of compared to the present situation Customs has applied for and all offences. These were followed by – they have only started their de- obtained EUR 1.5 million from the offences related to pharmaceuticals, velopment path. Competition be- government for building an auto- smuggling and doping substances. tween companies over consum- mated control line. The related In addition, more than 2 000 minor ers and purchasing decisions is pro- development project is underway. cases of illegal importing were un- gressing in many ways and also has The project team and steering covered. These were processed in a significant impact on the activities group consist of representatives of an administrative procedure. More of Customs. all departments, and cooperation than 200 000 shipments were re- From the viewpoint of Customs, has been close and enthusiastic be- ferred to customs clearance, and it is important to bring customs tween them. nearly 20 000 customer queries clearance and customs control In addition, Customs is work- were processed, mainly via email. procedures together, also when it ing more closely with Posti, and High-speed transport and the comes to future changes, so that their shared vision of the operating high volume of goods require rapid transport systems remain smooth model has been shaped on the basis actions and cooperation, which was and effective. International agree- of the needs of both organisations, highly productive in 2018 between ments, laws, rights and responsibili- by using tools and plans. Customs Investigation, Customs ties, correct and accurate informa- Enforcement and other authorities. tion and confidential cooperation Due to an increase in traffic volumes, activities were not targeted and mobility was not increased between different logistics termi- nals quite as planned. During 2019, these aspects will be developed in order to increase the risk of getting caught and to obtain information about the risk level in transport more effectively. The active control of bans, restrictions and customs clearance procedures and the prevention of the shadow economy will continue in accordance with the online sales control plan, both internally and with different interest groups.

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 7 Illegal online trade

The Internet offers an effortless line trade in narcotics, pharmaceu- methods and behaviour of criminals channel, independent of time and ticals, doping substances and snus related to online trading. place, for trading on different prod- in encrypted networks and social Through online channels, spe- ucts and services. Today, online trad- media services has kept Customs cial international expertise in illegal ing is a large-scale international Investigation busy. The increased and criminal activities is available to business. use of alternative payment instru- more and more parties, without any The increase in online trade is ments, such as virtual currencies, particular IT skills. Information and also increasingly reflected in the in illegal trading has also created points of contact can be found fairly day-to-day activities and tasks of new opportunities for international easily from different online forums, Finnish Customs. Parties and crimi- money-laundering operations. depending on the level of interest. nals involved in illegal online trade Customs has been heavily in- Therefore, it is likely that crime as a act alongside, and also in concert volved in the prevention of online service will increase significantly in with, legal online trading. This pre- crime, on both national and inter- the future. sents challenges to the conventional national levels. Smooth coopera- Illegal online trading and crime ways of Customs to monitor goods tion between authorities and the on the Internet will remain a key traffic, and to identify and prevent determined development of activi- challenge for Customs control, also any criminal activities and parties ties have also helped to improve during the next few years. The effec- involved. the results of online crime preven- tive prevention of online crime re- Illegal and criminal activities re- tion. The criminal investigation of quires seamless and open coopera- lated to online trading are visible to Sipulikanava, an onion service main- tion and exchange of information the authorities in different ways. It tained in the encrypted Tor net- not only between internal Customs goes without saying that it has many work, is a good recent example of units, but also between external in- links to different types of crime, national activities. terest groups. such as frauds and economic and However, illegal online trading Crime via data networks is in an narcotic offences, as well as identity does not only involve hidden and ever changing and moving form of theft. Advanced communications anonymous online marketplaces. crime which develops and adopts and encryption technologies also Criminal activities are often present new technological innovations in speed up the expansion of interna- where a large number of potential a quick and agile way. In order to tional and organised crime towards customers are easily available. In keep up, Customs must also be able the use of new operating models in addition, the functions and the user- to react and develop its operating order to gain illegal financial benefit. friendliness of online platforms are capacity to respond to future chal- The large number of young people more significant factors than what lenges. involved in illegal operations is also is often estimated. Self-monitoring a cause for concern. systems, such as customer feedback In recent years, organised on- on products, also challenge the

8 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 Snus history and regulations

The sale of snus was banned in all Smoking has decreased among border. EU countries in 1992 on the rec- young people in particular, and The last time smuggling was ommendation of the World Health snus has partly replaced cigarettes. this active on the border between Organization. However, the produc- Fewer and fewer young people in Finland and Sweden was decades tion and sale of snus is permitted in Finland smoke cigarettes, while the ago when import regulations were Sweden based on an exemption. In use of snus among boys under 18 in place. The most popular articles mainland Finland, the sale of snus continues to increase. In addition smuggled at the time included but- was banned in 1995. to adults and young people, snus ter and coffee. Another primary According to the Tobacco Act, a is offered illegally to children, and route for importing illegal snus into private person can import at most used bags of snus can even be found Finland include ports in Southern 1 000 grams of snus per calendar from outside schools. Finland, through which snus is im- year for personal use. ported from Sweden and the Baltic The tobacco tax levied on seized A significant smuggling countries. and sold snus is approximately EUR article between Finland and In ferry traffic, snus has also 0.37 per gram. In addition to crimi- been seized from lorries operating Sweden nal consequences, excise duty run- in commercial transport. In a few ning into hundreds of thousands of The route from Haparanda to Fin- smuggling cases the aim has been to euros may be imposed on a person land via Meänmaa and down to us- smuggle snus from Finland into Rus- who has imported snus for com- er markets in Southern Finland has sia where there is also a demand mercial purposes or held snus in become the most frequently used for this “black gold from Sweden.” their possession. smuggling channel. Smuggled snus is sold and dis- Regardless of restrictions set Attempts to bring snus into Fin- tributed from hand to hand and, out in EU regulations and the Finn- land hidden from Customs involve in particular, through social media ishTobacco Act, the smuggling and various methods. So far, the larg- services and encrypted online sales illegal sale of snus has increased sig- est discovered loads have consisted channels. The illegal sale of snus is a nificantly in Finland in recent years. of 350–400 kg of snus smuggled in profitable business. Because of the Currently, snus can be obtained fully loaded vans, while the small- illicit profits to be made, it is popu- fairly easily from illegal markets in est loads have been packages of a lar among new sellers and many Finland. few kilos carried on foot across the who have been caught before.

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 9 Snus cases and seized snus

During 2018, a total of 240 snus cases were registered. This was much more than in 2017 when there were approximately 150 snus cases. In 2018, a total of 6 744 kg of snus was seized, equivalent to roughly 449 600 fifteen-gram cans. In 2017, the corresponding figure was 2 390 kg, corresponding to 159 333 cans. This means that the amount of seized snus tripled from 2017.

Seized snus (kg) 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Total 542 1 204 3 442 2 390 6 744

Snus from Haparanda

The smuggling of snus, that black Currently, Customs has an on- tween private people in Finland and current flowing into Finland, kept going criminal investigation, the snus sellers in Sweden, whereas the many northern customs offices largest of all time in Finland, of ag- civilian tip-offs were related to the busy and resulted in many crimi- gravated tax fraud related to the loading of boxes of snus into differ- nal investigations during the year. smuggling of snus. Customs re- ent vehicles outside snus shops. We can go so far as to say there are ceived various tip-offs regarding the To verify the accuracy of the torrents of snus flowing into Fin- operation from different authori- civilian tips, Customs made some land through every border-crossing ties and civilians. The official tip-offs preliminary investigations and gath- point between Finland and Sweden. concerned financial transactions be- ered information. Fairly quickly,

10 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 customs officials realised that snus smuggling had evolved into a highly professional activity, in which every member played a fairly independent and highly significant role in delivering snus to Finland. Customs discovered that this operation involved a father and son in Haparanda, Sweden, whose task was to send snus from Sweden into Finland. Snus was bought by a person who arrived from Finland and who, soon after making these purchases, returned to Finland to wait for it to be delivered to a pre- defined location. After obtaining the tigation team consisting of repre- suspected of the case have been snus, he loaded it into his van. sentatives of the investigation units questioned in relation to aggravated During the preliminary investiga- of Tornio, Lappenranta, Tampere tax fraud and smuggling. tion, it was revealed that 50–100 kg and Helsinki Customs. After some During the preliminary investi- of snus was imported loaded into a colourful events, the perpetrators gation, it was discovered that the private car on every occasion. The were apprehended in Kainuu on 3 operation started in 2016. Between operation also involved a person April 2018. During the apprehen- 2016 and 2018, a total of 12,700 kg whose task was to monitor and sion, Customs confiscated 175 kg of of snus was imported from Sweden observe whether or not customs snus from inside a van. into Finland, on which excise duties officials were present at the border- After this, matters proceeded of EUR 4.6 million should have been crossing point. rapidly. Members of the opera- paid. The preliminary investigation The snus smuggled into Fin- tion working in the Helsinki region will be completed and the case will land was first delivered inland and heard almost immediately that the enter into indictment proceedings forward to Eastern Finland and the load of snus had been seized and in early 2019. Helsinki region. they managed to leave the coun- To uncover this criminal opera- try the next day before Customs tion, Customs set up a joint inves- caught them. However, eight people

Snus smuggling gang

Since July 2018, Customs has been During the early stages of the when delivering snus. He had given investigating a large-scale snus preliminary investigation, it was re- four boxes of snus from his van to smuggling operation by an Estonian vealed that the snus smuggled by another man. Customs searched gang. The preliminary investigation the two men also involved a third the van and confiscated 61 boxes of started when Customs was able Estonian man. It was also discov- snus. A single box contains 24 packs to track down two Estonian men ered that snus had also been smug- of 10 cans. The Estonian man was through its intelligence gathering ac- gled earlier and that the snus loads apprehended. tivities in July and confiscated 381 were delivered to individuals who, A few hours prior to the ap- kg of snus from them. judging from the amounts of snus prehension, Customs identified The two men had rented a delivered, seemed to be retailers. the Estonian man in a warehouse camper van from Finland and taken When Customs continued to in Mäntsälä, inside which an Esto- it on a ferry from Helsinki to Stock- investigate the role of the third nian lorry with a trailer had been holm to pick up snus. They returned Estonian man, it was fairly quick- reversed. According to information on a ferry operating from Kapell- ly discovered that his task was to obtained by Customs, this lorry had skär to Naantali. Customs stopped receive smuggled snus loads and arrived in Naantali from Sweden in the camper van in Järvenpää, confis- deliver them to Finnish wholesalers the morning of the same day. Based cated the snus load and apprehend- in the Helsinki region. In September, on observations, the lorry driver ed the men. Customs stopped the man in Vantaa and the Estonian man unloaded the

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 11 content of the trailer into the ware- drove to Helsinki. In Helsinki, Cus- operation in March 2018 and that house. This took roughly 15 minutes, toms stopped the van and confis- it smuggled a large number of snus after which the lorry exited from cated 183 kg of snus. The man was loads. the warehouse. Soon after the lorry re-apprehended. The total amount of smuggled left, the Estonian man drove away The man suspected as the snus is estimated to be 5 000 kg, from the warehouse in a van which leader of the gang arrived in Hel- of which Customs has seized 960 had been inside the warehouse. sinki from Tallinn on a ferry in Oc- kg. In total, nearly EUR 2 million in After the man was apprehended, tober 2018. He used the identity excise duties have been evaded. Al- Customs searched the warehouse. and identification card of another together 11 persons are suspected There were two pallets on which person. He was apprehended for a of being involved in the criminal boxes of snus had been stacked. preliminary investigation. operation, four of whom have been Plastic film had been wrapped Customs investigates the case as imprisoned. In addition, the suspect- around the boxes. In total, there aggravated tax fraud and smuggling. ed wholesalers, i.e. the Finnish men were 101 boxes on the two pallets. On the basis of the preliminary in- living in the Helsinki region, have There were several empty pallets vestigation, Customs suspects that been apprehended. and piles of removed plastic film in the gang started the snus smuggling the warehouse. This indicated that other smuggled snus loads had been delivered earlier into the warehouse. In addition, there was an electric pallet truck, which had been used to unload the pallets from the truck. Aggravated tax fraud using As the preliminary investigation continued, Customs started to sus- forged customs documents pect that an Estonian man living in Estonia led and planned the operation. He was suspected of main- A person is suspected of aggravated tax fraud using customs taining contact with wholesalers in documents with forged content and, therefore, taking posses- Sweden, of paying for the snus loads sion of undeclared goods. The goods were removed from the and of organising their import into scope of customs supervision when the warehouse operator Finland. Customs started to realise transferred them from temporary storage against forged cus- what kind of a gang was running the toms documents. Therefore, the goods were undeclared, and operation. the proper duties and taxes were left unpaid. A customs debt The two Estonian men received was incurred when the goods were removed from the scope orders from illegal Finnish whole- of customs supervision contrary to regulations. salers and accepted payments from Using forged documents, the person was able take posses- them. One of these two men then sion of articles made from valuable metals. During the prelimi- delivered the money personally to nary investigation, it was discovered that most of the goods the organiser living in Estonia. The were delivered as air cargo to interim storage in Southern organiser arranged importers for Finland. So far, several dozens of transit documents with the smuggled snus loads. forged content have been found. Customs confiscated the third During the preliminary investigation, it was discovered snus load in October. At the time, that the suspect took possession of many thousands of kilos one of the two men apprehended of articles made from valuable metals using forged customs in July travelled from Tallinn to Hel- documents. According to current knowledge, the amount of sinki on a ferry, using the identity evaded taxes is more than EUR 8 million. The final amount of another person. In Helsinki, he will be specified later during the preliminary investigation. The was given a Finnish van which he suspect has been convicted in absentia and a European arrest drove to Tornio in northern Finland. warrant (EAW) has been issued. Before crossing the border into The Foreign Trade and Taxation Department of Customs Sweden, he attached Swedish regis- has taken administrative action of more than EUR 1.5 million tration plates to the van. When re- regarding the case. turning to Finland, he used the same registration plates to avoid being inspected by Customs. He removed the registration plates in Finland and

12 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 Marble cigarettes seized in the West Harbour of Helsinki.

Cigarettes from Latvia

On 9 February 2018, Customs in- he took the trip with two men, at men who arrived on foot and place spected a van that arrived from Tal- their request, and that the ciga- them under preliminary investiga- linn to the West Harbour in Helsin- rettes were purchased and loaded tion. ki on the M/S Star after a cigarette in Riga, Latvia. The three men evaded tobacco sniffer dog showed significant inter- According to the preliminary taxes of EUR 28,290 on the illegally est in the van. investigation, the three men arrived imported cigarettes. During the inspection, 350 car- in Finland under a mutual agree- The preliminary investigation of tons of Route66 cigarettes, i.e. 70 ment, so that the driver drove the aggravated tax fraud and smuggling 000 cigarettes, and 250 cartons of van out of the ferry on his own and has been completed, and the case Marble cigarettes, i.e. 50 000 ciga- the other two men arrived on foot. was transferred to the Prosecutor’s rettes, were discovered packed into When the driver’s apartment was Office of Helsinki for indictment brown cardboard boxes inside the searched the next day, notes related proceedings. van. The cartons did not carry Finn- to the sale of cigarettes, alcohol ish and Swedish warning labels. and snus were discovered. It took The driver of the van said that a month to track down the two

Seized cigarettes which had been hidden inside a load of woodchips.

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 13 Smuggling GBL

Many European countries classi- psychoactive substance in consumer Future challenges fy gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) as a markets. narcotic substance and supervise its Later in 2016, Polish authori- On 1 December 2018, GBL was import and use. However, there are ties were able to stop the smuggling classified as a narcotic substance many European countries in which of GBL from Poland, after which in Lithuania. Using new regulations, GBL has not been classified as a the criminals who smuggled GBL Lithuanian authorities can better narcotic substance. These include moved to Lithuania. tackle the smuggling of GBL and the Czech Republic, Germany, Cro- During the past two years, GBL punish persons taking part in smug- atia, Greece, Luxemburg, the Neth- has been smuggled from Lithuania gling operations. erlands, Portugal, Malta, Slovenia and via couriers not only to Finland, but Immediately following the Spain. all over the world. Finnish Customs changes in Lithuanian laws, the GBL The low number of GBL batches has repeatedly confiscated GBL smuggling operation moved to an- confiscated prior to 2016 hinted shipments sent from Lithuania by other European state. According that GBL had disappeared from post. According to the statistics of to the most recent findings, GBL is Finnish markets. This was possibly the Customs Laboratory, Customs now being smuggled from Slove- affected by the efficiency of Dutch confiscated 143 litres of GBL in nia which is a former Eastern Bloc authorities in preventing the smug- 2018, which was slightly more than country, similarly to Poland and gling of GBL. However, the smug- in 2017 (125 litres). Lithuania. gling of GBL has not stopped in It is expected that the race be- Europe. It has been relocated to tween authorities and smugglers Poland where GBL is classified as a continues, until GBL is classified as a narcotic substance in all parts of Europe.

GBL canisters.

14 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 Sipulikanava – unrestricted narcotics sales in the tor network

In 2014, a discussion forum called There were also separate sections Sipulikanava during 2017. Sipulikanava opened in the Tor net- for mail order and large orders of The investigations also con- work. It quickly spread from dis- narcotics. firmed that the administrator had cussions to the sale of illegally im- The common practice was made trading in drugs easier and ported narcotics. It turned out to that a seller posted a message in smoother via the website by con- be a popular service and quickly Sipulikanava listing what they were stantly modifying it on the basis of grew into one of the largest Finn- selling, where they were selling requests from buyers and sellers. ish websites for the sale of narcot- and how they could be contacted. The administrator also built a fea- ics. To demonstrate the site’s popu- Messages nearly always included a ture allowing sellers to improve the larity, some 3 000 messages, mainly photo of the narcotics being sold. visibility of their advertisements in dealing with the sale or purchase of Potential buyers browsed through exchange for bitcoin. narcotics, were posted in the forum different messages, forming a con- At the end of 2017, the house every day before Customs shut it nection between the buyer and the of a middle-aged man suspected of down. seller. Details of the sale were main- being one of the administrators of During 2016 and 2017, a total ly defined using highly encrypted Sipulikanava was searched. Customs of 199 reports of offences were instant messaging applications, such was assisted by the Police Special registered in the Data System for as Wickr. Intervention Unit of the Helsinki Police Matters. These concerned The site’s ease of use and high Police Department and the Na- organised trading in drugs via Sipu- functionality, also on mobile devices, tional Bureau of Investigation. As likanava. Of these, 37 offences were made it very easily accessible, also a result, a large amount of digital aggravated. to minors. evidence, including the Sipulikanava Users did not need to register Customs started to investi- servers, was seized. in order to use Sipulikanava. This gate Sipulikanava in 2017 when it In the charges placed at the end means that anyone was easily able discovered that a suspect in an ec- of 2018, the prosecutor demanded to sell anything, without any inter- stasy case previously investigated a sentence of at least seven years ference by system administrators. by Customs had also been involved for the suspect for an aggravated The site was divided into location- in selling drugs in Sipulikanava. As a narcotics offence. The case was pro- specific sections where buyers result of investigations and official cessed in a district court in January were able to find sellers of narcot- cooperation, Customs was able to 2019. The court will issue its verdict ics in the area where they lived. identify one of the administrators of in February 2019.

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 15 Narcotics offences and precursors

In 2018, Finnish Customs registered and Western Europe. Finland is also that the use of amphetamine has in- altogether 2,753 narcotics offences, a transit country for narcotics that creased dramatically, at least in the much fewer than in 2017. The most are smuggled to Russia and Western Helsinki region. distinctive decrease was seen in Europe. Of the other Nordic coun- New psychoactive substances standard narcotics offences, as their tries, narcotics are smuggled espe- (NPS) are still a problem, and their number fell by more than 400 cases. cially to Norway through Finland. variety is huge. Statistical compari- However, the number of aggra- sons of these substances have prov- vated narcotics offences increased Synthetic drugs en difficult, as they can be classified slightly to 281 in 2018. A total of into three groups: narcotics, psycho- 193 individuals were suspected of The volume of amphetamine and active substances banned from the aggravated narcotics offences. Of methamphetamine seized in 2018 consumer market, and unclassified these suspects, 42 per cent were was 46.3 kg. Methamphetamine on- substances. non-Finnish, mainly from Estonia, ly accounted for roughly 1 kg. This New substances enter and old Gambia, Morocco, Sweden and Lith- quantity is less than in 2017 (58.8 ones exit the market continuously. uania. The standard offences were kg). Most often, amphetamine and In 2018, some 90 new psychoactive mostly detected in customs con- methamphetamine were smug- substances were discovered in analy- trols of postal traffic. Based on this, gled by foreign citizens on passen- ses conducted by the Customs Lab- it is evident that large amounts of ger ships. Significant amounts of am- oratory. Of these, 10 were substanc- narcotics are being ordered on the phetamine also arrived in Finland by es that the Customs Laboratory Internet. letter, for example, from Germany. had never encountered before. The In 2018, Customs confiscated Amphetamine remains one of Government decree on psychoactive 1,060 kg of narcotics. This is much the most popular narcotics in Fin- substances banned from the con- less than in 2017 (3,175 kg). This land. According to the statistics of sumer market entered into force on can be explained by the decrease narcotics seized in 2018 and waste- 20 December 2014 when substances in the amount of seized khat from water surveys conducted by the previously classified as pharmaceuti- 2,304 kg to 700 kg. In addition, the National Institute for Health and cals were included within the scope amount of seized hashish decreased Welfare (THL), it seems that there of the Narcotics Act. by approximately 640 kg. is practically no methamphetamine However, the legislation has not Narcotics are mainly imported in Finnish narcotics markets. The put a complete stop to the import to Finland from the Baltic countries wastewater surveys also indicate of new substances to Finland. The

Narcotic-related offences 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Aggravated narcotics offence 300 199 254 271 281 Narcotic offence 1 641 1 819 2 810 2 829 2 403 Preparation of a narcotics offence 52 88 39 39 12 Illicit consumption of narcotics 218 206 84 90 57 All narcotics offences 2 211 2 312 3 187 3 229 2 753

Seized drugs

Seized amphetamine (kg) (incl. methampetamine) 187.8 135.9 56.2 58.8 46.3 Seized marijuana (kg) 151.7 63.9 25.4 115.2 199.9 Drug seizures in cases investigated (kg) 3 488 1 277 1 036 3 175 1 060

Seized ecstasy (tablets) 58 289 9 791 107 000 19 034 187 784 Seized buprenorphine (tablets) 15 459 18 675 20 994 15 136 33 375

16 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 sample volumes examined by the tablets are still very different in previous year. On the basis of cases Customs Laboratory have remained southern and northern Finland. In discovered by Customs, the import nearly at the same level as before the Helsinki region, the street mar- of fresh khat has decreased slightly, the legal amendments were intro- ket value of Subutex is EUR 30–50 even though it is still smuggled direct- duced. per tablet, whereas in northern ly from its production areas in Africa. Synthetic opioids have become a Finland the price can reach EUR Large amounts of dried khat major problem elsewhere in Europe 100–120. In prisons, the price of a were imported using postal consign- and in North America. They have single tablet can be several hun- ments and couriers. The increase in also found their way into Finland, dreds of euros. the proportion of dried khat, which is as large amounts of one derivative In addition to the high demand lighter than fresh khat, partly explains of fentanyl were seized from postal for Subutex, it is also popular be- the significant decrease in the seized consignments during 2018. These cause of the profit gained from its quantity. However, it is not likely that substances were ordered from the sale. The acquisition price of a single the use of khat has decreased. It is Darknet. Customs statistics and tablet in France is only a few euros. still a popular substance among par- wastewater surveys show that the ticular minority groups. previously popular alpha-PVP has Cannabis disappeared from our markets. Precursors In 2018, a total of 187 784 ec- In 2018, Customs seized a total of stasy pills were seized. This figure 34 kg of hashish, much less than in Very small quantities of substances is nearly ten times higher than in the year before. Altogether 199.9 kg classified as precursors are seized at the previous year. This total amount of marijuana were seized, significant- an annual level. In 2018, unclassified mainly consists of the batch of 130 ly more than in 2017. substances and equipment that can be 000 seized pills, the largest batch Cannabis is the most commonly used for legal purposes or for the pro- in the history of Finnish Customs, used narcotic in Finland. The smug- duction of narcotic substances arrived which was probably intended to be gling of marijuana from Spain and in Finland from Asia via air traffic and sent to Russia. Ecstasy has main- Portugal by air increased notably express cargo. tained its popularity after its return during 2017, and the same trend Finland cannot be considered a to the market in 2012. continued in 2018, with individuals major country of production or ori- According to the national of North African origin and citizens gin in terms of narcotics, but phe- wastewater survey of THL, ecstasy of many different European coun- nomena related to drug crimes de- is used particularly on Fridays and tries acting as couriers. Hashish was tected elsewhere in Europe have very Saturdays. This supports previ- also smuggled to Finland by drug often occurred in Finland as well. It is ous assumptions that ecstasy is couriers inside their bodies during likely that the production of synthet- used largely by young adults during 2018. ic narcotics will increase in Finland, weekends as a party drug. at least to a lesser extent. Finland is Cocaine also used as a transit country when Subutex smuggling precursors or substances In 2018, Customs seized 8.2 kg of used in their manufacture from Asia Subutex is still a very popular sub- cocaine, much more than in the to Europe. stance among drug users and it is previous year. On the basis of sei- GBL is classified as a psycho- smuggled to Finland in large quanti- zure statistics, cocaine smuggling active substance prohibited in the ties. In 2018, Customs confiscated to Finland has increased signifi- consumer market, but internation- about 33 000 Subutex tablets, dou- cantly since 2014. Individual quanti- ally it is regarded as a precursor, as ble the amount seized in the year ties seized have increased for a few inside the body it changes into GHB, before. years now. a narcotic. In 2018, high quantities of Subutex is most often smug- On the basis of THL’s waste- GBL were discovered and Customs gled in consignments containing water surveys, the use of cocaine seized about 140 l of GBL. In 2018, thousands of tablets from France increased heavily in the Helsinki the substance was mainly imported to Germany and Sweden, and on region in summer 2016, after which to Finland from Lithuania in canisters to Finland in sea traffic. The abuse it remained stable until the end of of one or five litres. of the substance as an intoxicant 2017. During 2018, the use of co- A single dose of GBL is 1–2 ml, is still common and has spread all caine doubled. meaning that one litre provides as over the country. Of foreign nation- many as 1 000 doses. Lithuania classi- als, smuggling is mainly done by per- Khat fied GBL as a narcotic substance on sons of North African origin, and by 1 December 2018. The impact of this Lithuanian and Estonian persons. In 2018, Customs confiscated 711 decision will be seen during 2019. The street prices of Subutex kg of khat, much more than in the

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 17 approximately 2 kg of cocaine for Aggravated narcotics offences street sales. Other ingredients required for the production of am- by men from Lithuania phetamines were also seized from the vehicle. The total value of the seized narcotic substances was Last year, Customs investigated a The next day, one of the phones roughly EUR 822 000. criminal operation related to smug- started to receive text messages, on During the preliminary inves- gling amphetamine and cocaine. the basis of which monitoring began tigation, it was discovered that, in The preliminary investigation of a Lithuanian truck and trailer ar- October and November 2017, the started when, at the beginning of riving from Estonia the same morn- two suspects had also smuggled 500 February, Customs monitored two ing. g of cocaine and 2 000 ml of liquid men from Lithuania in relation to a The vehicle was stopped and amphetamine, which could have drug smuggling operation. The men inspected in the Helsinki region the been used to produce 7.5 kg of am- were apprehended after one day same day. A powder fire extinguish- phetamine for street sales. The total of monitoring. One of the suspects er containing 5 000 ml of liquid street value of the narcotic sub- entered a car with a Finnish regis- amphetamine was seized from the stances was roughly EUR 420 000. tration number carrying suspicious cab. The concentration of ampheta- During the preliminary investi- bags. The car was stopped, and the mines in the liquid was 79 per cent. gation, four Lithuanian and Finn- Lithuanian suspect and Finnish driv- It could have been used to produce ish men born in the 1970s or the er were apprehended on suspicion more than 19 kg of amphetamine 1980s were placed in custody. Three of an aggravated narcotics offence. sulphate for street sales (95 000 of them are full members of Finnish During the same evening, the doses). In addition, a package con- and Lithuanian sections of an inter- hotel room in which the two taining 501 grams of cocaine was national motorcycle club. Lithuanian men were staying was seized from a bucket of salt located The aggravated narcotics offenc- searched. One of the two Lithuanian in the cabin. es have been processed in Helsinki suspects was apprehended in the The purity of the cocaine was District Court, but the decisions hotel room. Several mobile phones 91 per cent, which means that it are not yet legally valid. were seized from the room. could have been used to produce

Pharmaceuticals classified as narcotics, medicines, doping

Pharmaceuticals classified as narcotics

Offences involving pharmaceuticals previous year’s corresponding re- pharmaceuticals seized during 2018, classified as narcotics are regard- view period. Compared with 2017, roughly half were benzodiazepines ed as narcotics offences, and there the quantity of seized buprenor- classified as narcotics. The other are no separate official statistics on phine more than doubled from half comprised opioid-based phar- them. 15 136 to 33 375 tablets. maceuticals, of which buprenor- During 2018, Customs seized al- According to the statistics of phine was clearly the most com- together 78 192 tablets of pharma- the Customs Laboratory, buprenor- mon. When measured by the num- ceuticals classified as narcotics. The phine was among the pharmaceu- ber of items, it was also the most quantities of seized pharmaceuticals ticals seized in the highest quanti- commonly seized pharmaceutical. classified as narcotics decreased sig- ties in 2018, along with diazepam, Buprenorphine was followed by di- nificantly, i.e. 54 per cent, from the alprazolam and clonazepam. Of all azepam, a benzodiazepine, account-

18 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 ing for 47 per cent of all benzodiaz- rivatives, and dexamphetamine were postal and courier consignments epines. Other seized pharmaceuti- discovered. containing pharmaceuticals, 26 per cals included alprazolam and clon- By far the most, i.e. 91 per cent, cent were sent from the UK, 18 per azepam, which are also benzodiaz- of all pharmaceuticals classified as cent from Portugal and 8 per cent epines. Alprazolam made up 33 per narcotics were seized from postal from Hungary. cent and clonazepam 14 per cent of and courier consignments in 2018. In most cases, the suspect was all benzodiazepines seized. Five per cent of these pharmaceu- Finnish, with Finnish citizens ac- Some quantities of other sub- ticals were seized from air traffic, counting for 81 per cent of all sus- stances classified as opioids, such whereas sea and road traffic ac- pects. In individual cases, suspects as methadone, codeine and oxyco- counted for four per cent. were Russian, Norwegian and Span- done, were also seized in 2018. In The pharmaceuticals seized dur- ish citizens. addition, small quantities of methyl- ing 2018 were mainly sent from the phenidate, rarer benzodiazepine de- UK, Portugal and Hungary. Of all

Seized narcotic medicines (tablets) 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (incl. buprenorfin)

Total 35 202 36 921 82 115 170 052 78 192

Pharmaceuticals

In 2018, the total number of phar- showing a decrease of as much as pain, allergies or depression. When maceutical offences recorded by 79 per cent. comparing the development of Finnish Customs decreased slightly, Clenbuterol, various cancer the quantities seized in 2017 and i.e. four per cent, from the previous drugs and opioid-based painkill- 2018, changes can be seen in cer- year’s corresponding period. The ers represented the majority of all tain groups of pharmaceuticals. The number of standard pharmaceutical pharmaceuticals seized by Customs quantities of seized exemestane, offences decreased by 27 per cent in 2018. Clenbuterol is mainly used letrozole and anastrozole increased from the previous review period, to treat equine asthma, and it has by 80 per cent and those of seized whereas the number of pharmaceu- no other medical use in the EU. tramadol increased by 28 per cent tical violations remained unchanged In addition, cancer drugs, such as from 2017. from the previous year. The major- exemestane, letrozole and anas- Most pharmaceuticals were ity of all recorded cases were pro- trozole, were seized during 2018. seized from postal and courier con- cessed as pharmaceutical violations. Tramadol, an opioid-based painkiller, signments. A total of 88 per cent of These often lead to the confisca- was the third most common sub- all standard pharmaceutical offences tion of the substances in question. stance seized. recorded in 2018 were discovered During 2018, significantly fewer Seized pharmaceuticals also in- by monitoring postal and courier tablets were seized than in 2017. In cluded erectile dysfunction drugs consignments. Of all pharmaceuti- total, 56 009 tablets were confiscat- and a variety of medicines used cal violations, postal and courier ed in 2018, while the corresponding to treat illnesses or their symp- consignments accounted for 91 per figure in 2017 was 265 406 tablets, toms, such as high blood pressure, cent.

Medicine offences 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Medicine offence 190 124 144 110 80 Medicine violation 561 682 710 632 633 Total 751 806 854 742 713

Seized medicines (tablets) 90 792 282 908 225 564 265 406 56 009

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 19 In terms of pharmaceutical of- regard to pharmaceutical violations, Of all suspects of standard phar- fences, substances were mainly sent substances were mainly sent from maceutical offences, 66 per cent from India, the USA, Switzerland Switzerland, accounting for 28 per were Finnish. Six per cent of all and the Netherlands. Of all phar- cent of all seized pharmaceuticals, suspects were Russian citizens. Of maceuticals discovered by Customs, the USA (20 per cent) and India (11 all suspects of pharmaceutical viola- 15 per cent were sent from India. per cent). In a few individual cases, tions, Finnish citizens made up 79 It was followed by the USA, Swit- pharmaceuticals were sent from per cent and Russian citizens 3 per zerland and the Netherlands, each various countries. Most of the post- cent. Other nationalities were only accounting for 13 per cent of all al consignment inspections were involved in a few individual cases of confiscated pharmaceuticals. With carried out using X-ray machines. offences and violations.

Doping substances

During 2018, Customs uncovered the Customs Laboratory, by far the cent from road and rail traffic and altogether 230 doping offences, i.e. majority of all doping substances three per cent from sea traffic. The roughly the same number as in the confiscated in 2018, up to 93 per remaining substances were confis- previous year. Of these, 13 were cent, were anabolic steroids. The cated during investigations. The ma- aggravated offences. The number most common substance was sta- jority of all doping substances were of standard doping substances in- nozolol which accounted for half of seized from international postal creased by 35 per cent, whereas all seized anabolic steroids. It was consignments at Helsinki Airport. the number of minor doping offenc- followed by oxandrolone which, In 2018, the postal and courier es decreased by 10 per cent from together with stanozolol, made up consignments that contained doping 2017. 80 per cent of all anabolic steroids substances were mainly sent from The number of seized doping seized in 2018. Poland and the USA, each account- substances remained unchanged Testosterone only accounted ing for 18 per cent of all cases. from 2017, while the amount of for a very small proportion, i.e. These were followed by the UK (10 substances increased significantly in three per cent, of all doping sub- per cent) and Hungary (9 per cent). 2018. The large individual batches stances seized in 2018. All testos- Eight per cent of all consignments seized during the final quarter of terone seized in 2018 came in an were sent from Singapore, while 2018 raised the full-year amount of injected form, whereas the major- individual consignments were sent seized substances much higher than ity of seized anabolic steroids were from various countries. in the previous year. Altogether tablets. Some antiestrogens and Most of the suspects (83 per 587 445 tablets or ampoules of growth hormones classified as dop- cent) of doping offences were Finn- doping substances were seized in ing substances were also seized. ish. In a few cases, suspects came 2018. This number is more than The majority (80 per cent) of all from Iraq, Russia and Poland, and four times higher than in 2017 doping substances were confiscated citizens of other countries were when a total of 121 301 tablets or from postal and courier consign- only involved in a few individual ampoules were seized. ments. Six per cent of all substances cases of doping offences. According to the statistics of were seized from air traffic, five per

Doping offences 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Aggravated doping offence 17 29 35 6 13 Doping offence 256 154 49 37 50 Petty doping offence 52 160 160 186 167 Total 325 343 244 229 230

Seized doping substances (tablets/ampoules) 87 491 110 442 28 188 121 301 587 445

20 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 Doping substances from Bulgaria

In October 2018, Customs seized a large amount of doping substances from two parcels addressed to a single re- cipient. The parcels were sent from Bulgaria, and their total weight was 21 kg. In total, 3,830 ampoules and 1,850 pills of anabolic steroids and testosterone were seized from the parcels. This amount would be sufficient for 269 use cycles, and the street value of the substances would be roughly EUR 25 000. In addition, 1 150 pills of Clenbuterol, a prescrip- tion drug, were seized from one of the two parcels. This case is being investigated as an aggravated doping offence and a smuggling offence.

Customs laboratory tests and analyses

In 2018, the Customs Laboratory substances in field conditions. task laid down in the legislation is tested some 5,000 samples related Similar developments have been always fulfilled without any prob- to illegal importing. For many years, seen among the customs authori- lems. However, it is not possible to the number of samples continued ties of many EU countries in order resolve tomorrow’s problems using to increase. Now, this increase has to make a rough distinction be- yesterday’s equipment. Therefore, it been stopped by eliminating any tween legal and illegal shipments is vital to follow current trends. samples sent unnecessarily to the in the field using various portable Maintaining clear and updated Customs Laboratory. At the same units. This speeds up the flow of lists of pharmaceuticals, narcot- time, the level of analytics has been goods. In this way, the Customs ics and doping substances would improved and new measuring de- Laboratory can focus on the analy- benefit Customs and citizens. These vices acquired in order to analyse sis of the most demanding samples would eliminate unnecessary work more demanding samples. that are relevant in terms of inves- and many mix-ups, which in the Customs is often the first au- tigations. As a result, the overall worst case are thrashed out in dif- thority that runs into new phenom- process becomes quicker and more ferent courts of law. The Customs ena when it monitors the flow of cost-efficient. Laboratory is also working on goods. The Customs Laboratory New laboratory and field meas- these, but the real power lies in the also plays an important part in dis- uring devices are introduced at an relevant ministries. covering these new phenomena. accelerating pace. Keeping up with However, the parties have main- All new designer drugs and doping this development, testing devices tained a positive dialogue, which substances, as well as pharmaceuti- and acquiring them through bidding continues to be necessary in order cals, must be analysed. This requires processes is time-consuming and, as to reduce any legislative problems modern analysis equipment. resources are often limited, it must that interfere with customs en- The most recent addition to the always be ensured that the basic forcement. already impressive list of equipment is the gas chromatography-infrared detector (GC-IRD) acquired with New phenomena and technological development are the help of the EU’s Internal Secu- not the biggest challenges for the Customs Laboratory rity Fund (ISF). It can, for example, and, thus, for monitoring illegal importing: the slow pa- detect any minor differences in the structure of designer drugs. Funding ce of the legislative process in this constantly changing obtained from the ISF was also used world ties the hands of Customs. A continuous game to acquire eight portable Raman of cat-and-mouse is going on in the world of designer measuring devices that allow cus- drugs and designer doping substances. toms officers to identify different

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 21 End of an online store

Last year, Customs completed ex- dence, for example, of the narcot- Sentences for aggravated tensive preliminary investigations of ics sent to Finland. Four of these narcotics offences the import and online sale of nar- shipments were addressed to the cotics in 2017. residence of the suspect who was During the preliminary investigation, The preliminary investiga- under investigation by Customs, and Customs seized the main suspect’s tion started in autumn 2017 when the content of two of these ship- computer and mobile phone, which 100 g of cocaine arrived at Helsinki ments was uncovered on the basis contained the addresses of bitcoin Airport from the Netherlands. The of information obtained from the wallets used in trading in drugs. The cocaine was hidden inside two can- Dutch authorities. Vantaa District Court ruled that the dles and addressed to a private resi- A shipment sent to Finland in computer and mobile phone should dence in the Helsinki region. A few March contained 3 000 diamond- be seized. weeks later, two letters were sent shaped ecstasy pills, and another In total, the case involved nine to the same address from Germany, shipment sent in June contained suspects. Vantaa District Court sen- from which Customs confiscated 50 g of cocaine with a purity of 86 tenced the main suspect to more 193 g of amphetamine. per cent. than seven years in prison. In addi- During the preliminary investiga- During the preliminary investi- tion, he was ordered to hand over tion, Customs was quickly able to gation, it was discovered that the nearly EUR 80 000 in criminal gains track down the suspects. Using vari- main suspect had sold the imported to the state along with the other ous investigative measures, Customs narcotics in a marketplace located suspects. discovered that the narcotics were in the Silkkitie (Valhalla) service be- One man who also received and received by a 30-year-old man who tween April and October 2017. In sold narcotics was sentenced to lived in the Helsinki region. The sus- total, the main suspect sold 117 g of four years in prison. The men who pect had outsourced the pick-up of pure alpha-PVP, 223 g of MDMA, 72 picked up the narcotics from the shipments to his partners who, ear- g of amphetamine, 125 ecstasy pills, post office received prison sentenc- lier in the spring, had picked up four 580 Rivotril 2 mg pills and 20 Oxy- es of two years and four years. shipments from the post office sent Contin 80 mg pills. In addition, 50 The other suspects received to the same address. g of cocaine and 3 000 ecstasy pills sentences ranging from fines to The Dutch authorities provided ended up in street sales. short suspended sentences. Not all more information about these pre- A small cabinet for growing can- sentences are yet legally valid. vious shipments. They had seized nabis was also discovered during the computer of a local online the preliminary investigation. seller of narcotics. It produced evi-

22 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 EU K9 Unit Network – international cooperation in canine operations

Late in summer 2016, Finnish Cus- handlers participated in the exer- ties and, for example, for the joint toms, together with Danish Cus- cise. All in all, the exercise involved exercise to be held in 2018. In addi- toms, was selected on the basis of a large group of canine profession- tion, an action plan was prepared to proposal by the EU Commission, als. define details of the project’s goals to lead a canine operations project The exercise was held in sum- and priorities, as well as the tasks called the EU K9 Unit Network un- mer 2018 during the FIFA World and schedules of different sub-com- der the Customs 2020 programme. Cup in Russia. During different mittees. Finland was elected to chair the periods over four weeks, dogs The results of the exercise held project. The EU Commission had were assigned in Imatra, Nuijamaa in summer 2018 were discussed at noticed the unusually long-term and (Vainikkala), Vaalimaa, Kotka, Airport a seminar in Helsinki in November successful partnership between Fin- Customs, and Helsinki ports. The 2018. There, plans were also pre- land and Denmark in canine opera- purpose was to identify and de- pared for the last two years of the tions, dating back to the early 1980s, velop the best ways of work. It was project, and changes made to the and proposed that these two coun- also possible to compare operating action plan were approved. tries head the project. practices between different coun- The main idea is to divide the Before the project was launched, tries, and the participants talked ac- participating countries into smaller an action plan was prepared for the tively about their methods. groups for which different service EU Commission. One of its ambi- The exercise required demand- tasks will be assigned. Finland’s task, tious goals was to use customs dogs ing preparations, and it was a chal- together with the Czech Republic jointly in the EU area. Another goal lenge to assign dogs and handlers and Lithuania, is to plan how the ef- recorded in the action plan was the to correct traffic areas in accord- ficiency of tobacco detection dogs optimal use of customs dogs in dif- ance with the training of each dog. could be improved. Denmark is ex- ferent traffic areas. Accommodation and transportation pected to join this group. One of the missions of dogs is also required complicated arrange- Plans are already well under- to protect EU citizens against risky ments but, in the end, everything way, but their practical implementa- shipments that are sent to the EU went smoothly. The project re- tion requires precise schedules, for territory and also to safeguard quired hard work and the input of example, regarding official visits and the EU’s financial interests. There- volunteers in order to succeed. coordination meetings. In Finland, fore, it was necessary to establish the results of this group are ex- a well-functioning canine network Future dog activity pected to be visible later this year across Europe in order to protect through the more effective selec- citizens and the environment. The The participating units, handlers tion of targets and the use of to- purpose of the project is to build a and the mobile enforcement team bacco detection dogs. strong and long-lasting cooperation proved to be valuable assets. The The project’s conclusion in 2021 network within Europe for canine Police Dog Training Centre kindly is approaching, but it is already quite operations – a cost-efficient mecha- allowed one of its dog trailers to be obvious that it will continue in the nism. used in the project. Briefly said, the form of a new customs programme. The joint use of customs dogs exercise was a success. The project helps us to improve was rehearsed in practice in sum- The EU K9 Unit Network pro- our skills and modernise our activi- mer 2018 when the EU Canine ject was launched at a kick-off event ties. Unit Network Exercise was held in held in Kuusamo in November Finland. The one-month exercise in- 2017, with representatives of nearly volved 26 dogs with their handlers all participating countries being pre- from 11 different countries. The sent. The framework of the pro- participating dogs represented all ject was outlined during the event. kinds of breeds. At the next seminar held in Malta, From Finland, 14 dogs with their guidelines were defined for activi-

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 23 ble devices. Customs is also actively involved in testing new technical solutions developed by STUK. If there are any problems, Customs employees can contact STUK’s 24/7 emergency service. Customs employees have also participated in radiation detection training in Eu- rope, and Customs has established a permanent radiation detection team with Russian Customs which meets regularly. In November 2018, this team organised a joint radiation detection exercise in Russia, in which some ten customs officers participated from Finland. In October, Customs, in cooperation with various authorities, organised a CBRNE exercise at Airport Customs and participated in a major accident exercise at Mus- salo harbour in Kotka. Customs was in charge of organising the CBRNE exercise at Airport Customs in October 2018. exercise held at Airport Customs. Other parties involved were Posti, the Keski-Uusimaa Rescue Depart- ment, Finavia’s rescue services, the Itä-Uusimaa Police Department and STUK. Trafi participated in the role CBRNE – of an observer. The exercise was the first of its kind, and its goal was to assess how cooperation be- presentation of ongoing tween different authorities works in threatening situations. development activities The exercise included a simulated situation where a letter containing a hazardous chemical breaks in the facilities of Customs, causing CBRNE stands for hazards result- strategy working group established one Customs employee to be ex- ing from chemical (C), biological (B), in 2015. Customs had representa- posed to the chemical. The contami- radioactive (R), nuclear (N) and ex- tives in the strategy team and the nated area was cleared and isolated, plosive (E) materials, as well as from former cooperation forum, the last other employees were evacuated the lack or misuse of related know- name of which was the 2nd subdivi- and first aid was administered to how. sion of the CBRNE strategy work- the exposed official. The alerted Finnish Customs has participating group. The CRBNE strategy rescue units moved the chemical ed in official cooperation in this sec- working group finished its work in into a fume hood. Next, fire-fighters tor from the beginning. The Police 2018 and concluded that cross-addressed in chemical-resistant cov- of Finland led the establishment of ministrative cooperation between eralls identified the substance using a cooperation forum in 2008. Its authorities is needed in terms of the chemical analyser of Customs members have included both practi- CBRNE, also in the future. before packaging it into transport cal specialists and academic experts. Customs acts as the radiation containers. In addition to cooperation activities, detection supervisor in close co- During the second phase of the an annual ship seminar has been operation with the Radiation and exercise, the detection of a radi- held for ten years now. Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK). ating substance from parcels was In 2017, the Ministry of the Inte- STUK owns and maintains the ra- simulated. Customs officials also rior issued the first national CBRNE diation detectors used by Customs, contacted STUK’s emergency ser- strategy which was prepared by a both fixed gate monitors and porta- vices for further instructions.

24 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 Both phases of the exercise channels. These guidelines will first be were a success, and all the partici- Various CBRNE situations have prepared for Airport Customs. Fol- pating parties stated that CBRNE been identified at Customs, such as lowing the piloting phase, they will exercises are necessary and that narcotics and powders sent by post. be customised for different modes new ones need to be organised in It has been stated that common of transport and different locations. the future. Coordinating the ac- guidelines are needed for CBRNE The guidelines will include instruc- tivities of the authorities is vital in monitoring. The goal of these guide- tions on what to do in the case of these types of situations so that all lines is to harmonise and simplify emergencies, contact information, goes smoothly and without any de- the CBRNE practices of Customs in and information about protective lays. It is equally important to build different locations, while addressing equipment and about how to use it. well-functioning communication occupational safety and health.

Customs officials inspecting a scrap metal load using radiation monitoring equipment in Tornio in October 2018.

A large-scale radiation inspection operation was held in Tornio in October 2018. The operation started when a load of scrap metal was delivered to the Outokumpu steel mill in Tornio for melting, causing a radiation alarm. The load contained radioactive americium which is used, for example, in industrial measuring devices. The metal batch was most likely sent from outside Europe. After this incident, Customs actively monitored scrap metal loads sent to the steel mill for a few days, but no new findings were made. Radiation sources that have not been processed properly can occasionally be found from among recycled metal. This operation was a good example of the need for radiation monitoring, also outside border-crossing points.

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 25 Product safety controls toys and vegetables form majority of rejections

This year’s hit toys – soft plastic A total of 1 798 samples of con- be in breach of valid regulations. In Squishies that attract small children, sumer goods, also including goods terms of quantities, vegetables and in particular – were found to be intended to come into contact with vegetable products formed the larg- dangerous, and the import of all of food products, and 2 274 samples of est group of rejected food prod- their batches was prohibited. Small food products were tested. ucts, as they were found to contain parts that compress and slowly Enforcement focused on the traces of pesticides and their micro- return to their original size can be import of consumer goods from biological quality was found to be easily removed from Squishies toys. outside the EU and the single mar- poor. In total, 486 of these products If a child puts one of these pieces ket trade on food products. It was were tested. in their mouth, it may cause suffo- discovered that roughly 25% of Toys formed the largest group cation when it swells up. Customs food products imported from the of both rejected and tested con- prohibited the import of many large single market came from outside sumer goods, totalling 624 samples. Squishies batches and reported the community. Defects in toys were mainly related these products to the EU’s Rapex Furthermore, 25% of all prod- to mechanical properties, hazardous database. ucts tested under the enforcement substances and markings. Slimes were other favourite of product safety were found to toys that were often found to be in breach of regulations. On the basis of observations made by Customs and many other member states, bo- ron is a common problem in slimes. Any excess concentrations of bo- ron in slimes were also reported to the Rapex database. In 2018, Customs tested the compliance of a total of 4,072 samples (batches) with regulations within the scope of the enforcement of product safety. This fell well short of the target level of 5,000 samples. Therefore, the enforcement rate was 81%. The number of samples was mainly affected by the nearly year-round lack of personnel resources in key functions.

In 2018, Customs sent 92 reports to rights holders regarding consignments that were suspected to contain forged products. In total, Customs tested 126,169 articles. The value of articles leading to further actions was EUR 2 176 665. The continuing increase in online sales is reflected in statistics of product stops, as 93% of all stops concerned postal traffic or express cargo. Stopped products that were destroyed during customs enforcement included game consoles, electric guitars, smartphones, phone batteries, clothes and shoes.

26 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 Manu – the Customs Customs detector dog activity 50 years

sniffer dog of the year Canine operations of Customs com- prise close cooperation, as well as pro- The Finnish Kennel Club nomi- detects even the faintest smells. He ductive and visible activities to protect nated the service dogs of the year gets an energy boost from findings. society in passenger and goods trans- 2018 at the Dog Fair Finland. Se- Detecting narcotics is a serious ports. Customs has close to 50 sniffer lected the Customs sniffer dog of business for Manu, even though it dogs who work in extensive and mo- the year, Manu, a Labrador Retriev- involves play. bile operations on Finland’s external er who works in Airport Customs, Manu works seamlessly with and internal borders. Sniffer dogs are has revealed 870 narcotics smug- his handler, which is reflected in used to control material prohibitions gling cases in four years. Manu the number of uncovered nar- and restrictions in road, air, rail and helped to uncover, for example, cotics cases and well-functioning sea transport. a large-scale smuggling operation cooperation between the police, Customs has trained and used when he identified a drug courier Customs and border control. What sniffer dogs since 1969. In addition who, after investigation, was found is more, Manu’s accuracy is among to detecting narcotics, Customs trains to have smuggled narcotics on a the highest in Finland: for example, dogs to detect cigarettes, snus, cash, total of 50 occasions. nearly one third of all inspections weapons, explosives and foodstuffs of Manu, also known as the made in 2018 were productive. The animal origin. Columbo of Varjoaho, has an in- handler’s determination and pro- The year 2019 marks an anniver- credible motivation that shows fessional and motivated attitude sary for Customs canine operations no signs of decrease, even though towards work has had a significant that started 50 years ago. Manu is already six years of age. impact on Manu’s fantastic results. In spring 2019, a festive exhibition Every morning, Manu goes to Manu will retire in a couple of of canine operations will be on display work as excited as every other years, even though he has remained at the Customs Museum. In addition, day. So far, Manu has already re- healthy and in excellent condition. a history of sniffer dogs will be pub- vealed 34 aggravated narcotics of- Manu’s handler also wants Manu to lished during the year. fences. Being self-confident, Manu enjoy his retirement.

Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018 27 tulli.fi

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28 Finnish Customs Enforcement 2018