Jere Karalahti
Professional hockey player Jere Karalahti is one of the defendants indicted on Tuesday in a massive case in which 19 people face charges of trafficking in amphetamines.
According to the indictment, the internationally organised criminal gang imported 20 kilos of amphetamine, and a few hundred grammes of cocaine between June and September last year.
Police suspected on the basis of their investigation that the group may have brought in as much as 200 kilos of amphetamine during a period of nearly two years, but not enough evidence was found for an indictment on such a large amount. Police say that the drugs were mostly distributed in the Helsinki area, Turku, and Lohja.
The trial begins in Vantaa on January 29th and is expected to continue through mid-February.
Karalahti expressed disappointment on Tuesday at the decision to include him in the indictment. "I believe that Finland is a country with the rule of law. I have denied my guilt from the beginning, and I have demanded that the case be held in public."
For security reasons, the trial is to be held at a prison in Vantaa.
In addition to allegations that he helped finance the drug trafficking operation, Karalahti was also suspected of possessing and using cocaine himself. However, prosecutors did not feel that a photograph of Karalahti sitting next to a table with a white substance on it constituted sufficient evidence.
On Tuesday, Karalahti was practicing his hockey skills, although he is currently not a member of any team.
On Monday, his old club, HIFK, said that it would not take Karalahti back. However, on Tuesday he said that he expects to be playing with a team in the Finnish Championship League before the end of the month, in spite of the indictment.
Under the league's rules he needs to be registered as a player of a team by the end of January.
According to the indictment, the internationally organised criminal gang imported 20 kilos of amphetamine, and a few hundred grammes of cocaine between June and September last year.
Police suspected on the basis of their investigation that the group may have brought in as much as 200 kilos of amphetamine during a period of nearly two years, but not enough evidence was found for an indictment on such a large amount. Police say that the drugs were mostly distributed in the Helsinki area, Turku, and Lohja.
The trial begins in Vantaa on January 29th and is expected to continue through mid-February.
Karalahti expressed disappointment on Tuesday at the decision to include him in the indictment. "I believe that Finland is a country with the rule of law. I have denied my guilt from the beginning, and I have demanded that the case be held in public."
For security reasons, the trial is to be held at a prison in Vantaa.
In addition to allegations that he helped finance the drug trafficking operation, Karalahti was also suspected of possessing and using cocaine himself. However, prosecutors did not feel that a photograph of Karalahti sitting next to a table with a white substance on it constituted sufficient evidence.
On Tuesday, Karalahti was practicing his hockey skills, although he is currently not a member of any team.
On Monday, his old club, HIFK, said that it would not take Karalahti back. However, on Tuesday he said that he expects to be playing with a team in the Finnish Championship League before the end of the month, in spite of the indictment.
Under the league's rules he needs to be registered as a player of a team by the end of January.
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