Appeal court upholds teen’s sentence, clears parents

The Helsinki Court of Appeal upheld a seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence for a teenager who led a large-scale drug operation, but dismissed money-laundering charges against his parents, Yle reported Monday.

The court found that the main defendant, who was 17 at the time, played a central role in receiving drugs in Finland and distributing them to other dealers and customers in Helsinki in 2024 and 2025. It reduced the quantities attributed to him in one aggravated drug offence but kept his sentence unchanged. He will remain in custody.

The court did not order a suspended sentence imposed for earlier offences to be enforced. It also adjusted the sentences of other defendants and changed the amounts they must forfeit to reflect the drugs’ actual sale prices.

A total of 341,428 euros in criminal proceeds was ordered forfeited to the state, down from more than 380,000 euros assessed by the district court. The proceeds were linked to 24,992 Subutex tablets, 300 grams of cocaine, 1.5 kilograms of hashish or marijuana, and 3,580 OxyContin tablets. The court also upheld the seizure of cash and a Rolex watch belonging to the main defendant.

Most of the cash had been hidden in the teenager’s room at his parents’ home in Ullanlinna, Helsinki. The appeal court said his parents knew or strongly suspected the money came from crime, but found no evidence that they intended to benefit from, conceal or assist the laundering of the proceeds. The parents had not reported the cash to police. They denied committing an offence and said they had stayed silent because they did not want to worsen their son’s situation.