Court hears case over Lauttasaari bike shop arson

Helsinki District Court has begun hearing the case over the arson attack that destroyed the Ibike bicycle shop in the ground floor of a residential apartment building in Lauttasaari, Yle reports.

The fire was started on March 3. Prosecutors have charged three people with aggravated criminal damage by fire. Two others face charges over crimes connected to preparing the act.

Minors allegedly carried out paid attack

Police arrested a 17-year-old boy at the scene on the morning of the fire after he suffered burns. A second minor, a young man born in 2008, was arrested several days later. Both were remanded in custody on suspicion of aggravated criminal damage by fire.

During police questioning, the two young men admitted setting fire to the bicycle shop in exchange for payment. One is a Finnish citizen and the other an Iraqi citizen, but both live in Finland.

As the investigation progressed, police suspected that three people living abroad had been behind the perpetrators. One of them was arrested in the United Kingdom and transferred to Finland in June.

Police have described the case as an example of the so-called crime-as-a-service phenomenon, in which criminals use other people, often young people, to carry out criminal acts for payment.

Ukraine connection prompted speculation

A total of 13 rescue units were sent to the scene. The fire also spread to apartments above the shop, but residents managed to leave the building themselves.

The bicycle shop was completely destroyed. According to the business owner, the damage amounted to hundreds of thousands of euros. All apartments in the building’s A stairwell were left unfit for habitation.

The case quickly took on political overtones in public discussion. The burned shop served as the postal address for Your Finnish Friends, an association supporting Ukraine’s defence, and the shop’s owner had been actively involved in the association’s work.

Investigation leader Masi Puolakka said during the preliminary investigation that speculation about the motive had neither been confirmed nor ruled out.