Police arrest third suspect in Helsinki bicycle shop arson case

Finnish police have detained a third suspect in connection with a suspected arson attack on a bicycle shop in Helsinki’s Lauttasaari district in early March, Swedish-language public broadcaster Svenska Yle reports.

The latest suspect, an 18-year-old man born in 2007, was arrested last Friday. Like the two previously detained men, he is suspected of aggravated criminal damage. Authorities have also linked him to a separate charge of aggravated drug offences.

According to Svenska Yle, the suspect has no prior criminal record. Police have previously indicated the fire may have been a paid contract job, though investigators have not yet confirmed a clear motive.

Marko Forss, the lead detective on the case, told Svenska Yle that while the third suspect was not present at the scene when the fire was set, he is connected to the incident. Forss did not disclose whether the man was the alleged commissioner of the arson or if he had ties to organised crime.

The March blaze caused extensive damage to the bicycle shop and adjacent residential units in a multi-storey building on Pajalahdentie, leaving nearby apartments uninhabitable. The shop had been preparing for the cycling season when the fire broke out.