Man charged with stealing 40 firearms from Finnish railway museum to pay off debts

A 50-year-old man has admitted to stealing 40 firearms from Kuhmoinen Railway Museum in three separate break-ins last summer, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reports. Prosecutors are demanding an unconditional prison sentence, with most of the weapons still missing.

The case is being heard at Pirkanmaa District Court, where the man faces charges of aggravated theft, serious firearms offences, and robbery. During the final break-in on 28 August 2024, he and an accomplice assaulted the museum’s owner, who attempted to intervene as they loaded weapons into a car. The pair also threatened to run the owner over before colliding with a fire truck while fleeing.

Investigators say the man’s motive was debt repayment. In a police interview, he confessed to the thefts, stating he intended to sell the weapons—34 of which were stolen in the first break-in on 3 July 2024. Only eight have been recovered. Two days later, he and another accomplice failed to break into the museum again but stole alcohol worth €500 from an adjacent residence.

Eleven people are now charged in connection with the case. Five face accusations of concealing 32 of the stolen firearms and distributing them. In January 2025, police found one of the revolvers in Tampere alongside drugs, including over nine grams of alpha-PVP and 18 grams of psilocybin mushrooms. The suspects admitted to drug offences.