Finnish Criminals Capture Weapons Destined for Ukraine

©AFP 2022 / SERGEI SUPINSKY

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that there are risks that powerful weapons will fall into the hands of criminal gangs and terrorists through Ukraine's black market. The West has ramped up arms supplies to Kiev since the start of the ongoing Russian special military operation in Ukraine on February 24.

Criminals in Finland have captured weapons “destined for Ukraine,” including assault rifles, the Nordic country's National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has revealed.

NBI Detective Superintendent Christer Ahlgren said on Sunday that they “have seen signs of these weapons already finding their way to Finland."

He argued that the investigation into the matter is already underway and that routes and contacts for trafficking illegal weapons from Ukraine to Finland have been detected

"Three of the world's largest motorcycle gangs—that are part of larger international organizations—are active in Finland. One of these is Bandidos MC, which has a unit in every major Ukrainian city...,” Ahlgren said.

The NBI Detective Superintendent argued that "weapons shipped [by various countries] to Ukraine have also been found in Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands.” According to him, "Ukraine has received a large volume of weapons and that's good, but we're going to be dealing with these arms for decades and pay the price here.”

The revelation followed Russian President Vladimir Putin warning earlier this week of “serious challenges” posed by the black market for weapons operating in Ukraine, where cross-border criminal groups are actively involved in smuggling arms to other regions.

The remarks came after the European law enforcement agency Europol warned in a statement this past summer that “the proliferation of firearms and explosives in Ukraine could lead to an increase in firearms and munitions trafficked into the EU via established smuggling routes or online platforms.”

Moscow has repeatedly warned the US and its allies against providing Kiev with arms, especially against the backdrop of the ongoing Russian special military operation in Ukraine, deliveries that the Kremlin cautioned might further exacerbate the conflict.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cautioned that “any weapon, [and] any arms shipment on the Ukrainian territory" would be considered “a legitimate target” by the Russian military. He also underlined that the US is “not at all neutral in this situation" and that Washington is "a party to the [Ukraine] conflict” given the US’ ongoing arms deliveries to Kiev.