Vantaa police officers acquitted in case involving undercover drug operation

Men entrapped by police consider appeal

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Helsinki District Court acquitted two officers from Vantaa working for the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in a case involving undercover work in a drug case.
      The court found that while a person who was not a police officer had taken part in the purchase of drugs as a way of getting evidence, the rules governing false purchases of illegal goods in undercover operations had not been sufficiently clarified at the time of the event.
     
The verdict may not be the last word in the case, however.
      The men, who were sentenced to long prison terms in 2006 on the basis of the case involving the undercover work, are considering appealing the decision, saying that they were the victims of illegal entrapment.
     
A possible appeal would hinge on the men’s status in the trial, which ended on Monday. Their request that they should have the status of plaintiff in the case was denied - even though the trial involved an undercover operation that brought them prison sentences of several years.
      The men’s lawyers feel that the men are interested parties, and even though the police were acquitted, they are considering an appeal.
      If the Court of Appeal finds that the men have a standing as plaintiffs, the case could go back to the district court level.
      The ultimate aim of the appeal would be a retroactive dismissal of the drug convictions, based on allegations that the false purchase of drugs that got the men convicted was executed through illegal means.
     
To support their case, the drug convicts want the court records of the case, which concluded on Monday. The papers have been sealed for the next 20 years.
      The men allege that in organising the false purchase, the police used outsiders, with a background in the illegal drug business.
      The men say that they were first enticed to order a consignment of ecstasy, after which they were persuaded to increase the amount of drugs ordered.
     
Under the law on undercover police work, the police are allowed to buy consignments of illegal goods that are already on the market. However, placing an order for a consignment of drugs that is not on the market is not allowed.
      The men’s lawyers say that the men were never told during the investigation of their case that they had been caught as part of a false purchase operation.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Criminal investigation of activities of Vantaa Drug Police and NBI (12.2.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat