Police link man abroad to two arsons ordered from minors

A 21-year-old man is suspected of ordering two arsons from minors in Finland while operating from abroad, Yle reports. He has not been charged in either case because police have been unable to reach him.

The fires occurred in an apartment building stairwell in Korso, Vantaa, on December 17, 2025, and at a bicycle shop in Lauttasaari, Helsinki, on March 3, 2026.

The man has a homicide conviction and suspected links to organised crime in Sweden. Police also say he has been involved with street gangs.

Two 15-year-old boys are suspected of setting fire to the stairwell in Korso. Police believe the suspected motive was alleged debts possibly connected to drugs supplied by a Swedish gang.

In the Lauttasaari case, police suspect the man acted as one of three adult organisers. The fire destroyed the bicycle shop. Two boys accused of carrying out the arson have been charged with aggravated damage to property after surveillance footage showed them setting the shop on fire. One of the boys also accidentally set fire to the other boy’s trousers.

The investigation into the two suspected organisers who are abroad is still under way, and police have not commented on their identities. One suspected organiser has been arrested and charged, along with those suspected of carrying out the fire.

European arrest warrants have been issued for suspects believed to be evading capture abroad.

“Even if suspects go abroad, we aim to bring them to criminal responsibility,” said Kimmo Sainio, a detective chief inspector at the Helsinki Police Department.

The man was convicted of killing a 24-year-old man at Helsinki Central Railway Station in April 2021, when he was 16. A district court found that he had stabbed the man to death after a fight. He received a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence.

After his release, police suspect he continued committing crimes. He was suspected of taking part in a confrontation between a street gang from Kerava and one from Espoo in Puustellinmäki, Espoo, on Christmas Eve in 2024. According to the preliminary investigation, he was in a car from which shots were fired at members of the Espoo gang. He was suspected of attempted homicide but fled abroad.

According to suspects interviewed during investigations, the man became acquainted with international criminals while abroad and is suspected of developing links to organised crime in Sweden. Police also suspect him of playing a central role in at least two aggravated drug crime cases involving violent debt collection.

One suspect in the Lauttasaari case told police that the man had gone abroad, met foreign gang members and “started doing all kinds of shady things”.