Esko Eklund apprehended in Iraq after evading prison sentence in Finland

Esko Eklund, the former leader of the Cannonball MC motorcycle club, who had been evading a long prison sentence, was apprehended in Iraq during the summer. The information was confirmed to STT by the Eastern Finland Court of Appeal. Eklund, 48, was sentenced to the maximum term of 13 years in a significant drug case by the Päijät-Häme District Court in the spring of 2022. Although he had been in pre-trial detention, the district court released him to await sentencing following the conclusion of the main proceedings.

When the district court’s decision was delivered in March 2022, Eklund could not be located for his imprisonment. In December of the same year, the Eastern Finland Court of Appeal ordered him to be detained in absentia.

Initial inquiries to prosecutor Anna-Riikka Ruuth regarding the arrest were met with comments about ongoing rumors surrounding Eklund, suggesting that the situation remained unchanged. However, Ruuth expressed hope that Eklund would eventually be found. After the interview, the court conveyed to STT that Ruuth had directly informed them of Eklund’s arrest. Ruuth later declined to comment further on whether Eklund was in custody.

STT has seen an email sent by Ruuth to the court confirming Eklund’s arrest abroad, with court member Aki Rasilainen noting that the arrest took place in Iraq. The current whereabouts of Eklund are unknown.

Eklund’s drug charges stemmed from a major international operation that misled criminals in various countries into using the Anom messaging platform developed by the FBI. The court determined that Eklund was responsible for planning, organizing, and ordering large quantities of drugs while serving as the president of Cannonball in 2021. Despite leaving higher-risk tasks to others, the financial benefits from drug trafficking were primarily directed to him.

Additionally, in a separate legal proceeding, the Päijät-Häme District Court dissolved Cannonball in the summer of 2022, a decision that was upheld in early 2023 when the Supreme Court denied an appeal.