Riihimäki explosive case moves to prosecutorial review

Police have completed their preliminary investigation into a man suspected of moving a wartime explosive in Riihimäki, and the case will now proceed to prosecutorial review, Yle reports.

The man, who is aged between 40 and 50, allegedly moved the explosive several dozen metres in a field. Police had located the object but left the scene. When officers returned, it was no longer there.

The explosive was later found near its original location. The man has told police that he did not know the object was an explosive, according to Ville Mattila, a crime commissioner with the Häme Police Department.

The discovery in the field led to a large police operation, and an emergency warning was issued. The warning reached the suspected man, who became somewhat distressed after realising that the object he had moved was a wartime explosive.

Police eventually identified him using surveillance-camera footage and other information linking him to the incident. He is suspected of an explosives offence.

The explosive had originally been found by Jari Salmi, who is not suspected of any crime.

Police actions in the case are also being investigated. Police previously acknowledged that an error had occurred when officers left the scene after locating the explosive. It later emerged that the same object had been reported to the emergency services centre about a month earlier.