Helsinki Court increases sentences in major drug trafficking case involving Netherlands

The Helsinki Court of Appeal on Wednesday increased the sentences in one of Finland’s largest drug trafficking cases, which involved importing drugs concealed in flower shipments from the Netherlands. The court determined that the main defendants constituted an organized criminal group, a factor that warranted harsher penalties.

While some of the convicted individuals had received additional prison sentences for other crimes since the initial district court ruling, only Johannes Van Egmond’s sentence was notably increased. The 47-year-old was initially sentenced to 10.5 years in prison, but the Court of Appeal raised his sentence by six months.

The court found that Van Egmond participated in the criminal activities alongside 50-year-old Jan Kromhout, who had received an 11-year sentence for his role in the case. The appeal court treated their culpability as equal and adjusted Van Egmond’s punishment to align with Kromhout’s.

Kromhout’s sentence remained unchanged due to mitigating circumstances, as he had actively sought to assist in the investigation, resulting in significant procedural cost savings. The most severe sentence issued was 12 years.

According to the court, the men smuggled drugs from the Netherlands to Finland, distributing them to various recipients, including three other men deemed principal actors. The investigation revealed that the duo repeatedly imported drugs and pharmaceuticals between 2018 and 2020.

Besides Van Egmond and Kromhout, the main recipients of the drugs included Feliciano Angelo Armando De Snoo, 32, Jani Petteri Laaksonen, 41, and Joonas Peltonen, 37, who was previously known as Jesse Joonas Lähteenmäki. Like the district court, the appeal court sentenced De Snoo and Laaksonen to 11.5 years and Peltonen to 12 years in prison.

The investigation involved various police forces, initiated by messages found on the encrypted Encrochat service, which gained popularity among criminals in the late 2010s due to its strong encryption before authorities managed to crack it.