Three men sentenced for serious drug offenses in Pohjanmaa District Court

The Pohjanmaa District Court has sentenced three men to prison for serious drug offenses that unfolded over a period of just over two years beginning in early 2022. A 60-year-old man from Mustasaari started stealing strong prescription medications intended for disposal from his workplace, a recycling center in Ilmajoki, which receives medicines from hospitals and pharmacies for destruction.

In court, he admitted to joking about taking the medications with a friend but later revealed that financial difficulties led him to divert the drugs for personal use and subsequently supply them to his friend. This accomplice, a resident of Vöyrin, advised the Mustasaari man on which medications to steal, which included oxycodone-based drugs, Diazepam, and Lyrica. The Vöyrin friend compensated him for these deliveries.

Discrepancies arose regarding the quantity of drugs and deliveries involved. The Mustasaari man confessed to delivering substances no more than 35 times and received between 150 to 250 euros per transaction. Conversely, the Vöyrin man denied receiving the pills. However, the court found him to be the more active participant based on telecommunication evidence suggesting the men met 80 times.

Additionally, the Vöyrin man was suspected of passing the pills to a man from Pietarsaari, which he denied, claiming he had only met his Pietarsaari friend while on a Tinder date. Law enforcement found various drugs, including cocaine and hashish, with the Pietarsaari man, who denied any intent to sell them.

All men received prison sentences: the Mustasaari man got two years and two months, the Vöyrin man two years and nine months, and the Pietarsaari man five years for drug possession, distribution, and weapon offenses. Each was ordered to forfeit financial gains from their crimes, amounting to several thousand euros. The ruling is not yet finalized.