A surprise of thousands of euros inside “Peppu-Kinder”. – 2024-03-31 03:07:20

– As long as kinder eggs are sold, the cases will be used for drug transportation, Tuomas Hanhikangas from the Criminal Sanctions Institute says. Inka Soveri

– If there is talk of Kinder in prison, everyone knows what it means.

That’s what it says Tuomas Hanhikangas, special expert of the security team of the Criminal Sanctions Institute. In prison, chocolate eggs are not only associated with Easter, because their plastic capsules are used to smuggle drugs inside the body. The surprise stuffed in the anus is full of drugs that the prisoners secretly trade inside the prison walls.

– This week was the latest case, Hanhikangas says.

The surprise egg capsule is small, but spacious. According to preliminary investigation materials of the United Brotherhood’s prison drug trade, one plastic box of a Kinder egg can hold an average of 50 tablets.

– The most recent batch probably contained a dozen or so subutex, Hanhikangas says.

In addition, the capsule is made of food-grade plastic, so it is unlikely to be terribly harmful to the body.

– The perfect tool for smuggling drugs has been created out of some whim of chance.

Lasting phenomenon

Kinder transports have been planned since at least the beginning of the 2000s, Hanhikangas recalls.

– It is a permanent phenomenon. Functional from the point of view of smugglers.

Sometimes condoms are also used, for example, when drugs are transported inside the body.

Of course, they try to transport drugs to the prison along with all other things, such as clothes, packages or letters. Attempts are made to pass the guards to bring conversion drugs, which have been absorbed into, for example, plasters or films. However, Hanhikangas points out that the amount of letter mail has decreased rapidly.

Hard to spot

Finding drugs inside the body in prison is challenging, because drugs are not visible during a visual inspection. However, a drug dog may detect a smuggling attempt.

A person suspected of drug smuggling can be placed under solitary confinement, in which case he cannot hide drugs when, for example, going to the toilet.

A doctor can also perform a physical examination, but the prison staff is not entitled to do so.

– The threshold for that is quite high and requires strong grounds, Hanhikangas says.

In general, we try to avoid random punches, but sometimes it is found that the suspicion was unfounded, says Hanhikangas.

Sanctions

Usually, drugs are smuggled from outside the prison walls to inside. In this case, the person has acquired the drugs outside the prison, and according to the Finnish Penal Code, it is a drug crime.

Narcotics are confiscated and the matter is reported to the police. After this, the matter proceeds through the courts.

– Since in Finland you cannot be punished twice for the same thing, no disciplinary measures are taken in the prison, Hanhikangas says.

If a person is caught in possession of a small amount of narcotics inside the prison, he can be punished in prison. In such a situation, the Prison Act allows the use of solitary confinement, i.e. the person can be put in solitary confinement.

Thousands of euros

Smuggling drugs into prison is attractive, even though the risk of getting caught is high. Hanhikangas says that one subutex tablet can cost several hundred euros in prison. The contents of one “butt-Kinder” can therefore be thousands of euros. And some of the prisoners have hatched up to four eggs at once.

– Someone always runs a drug store in prison. There can be individual local magnitudes or networked activities. They have ready distribution channels and there are users in prison.

Hanhikangas says that the complete fight against narcotics and issues that support the rehabilitation of prisoners are sometimes at odds with each other. For example, family meetings and exit permits are important for the rehabilitation of prisoners and the maintenance of family relationships.

– If family meetings were banned, drugs would certainly not be transported to the prison so much. But I don’t know how much the most extreme means would affect the whole.

– Of course, smuggling must be made difficult, but it is quite difficult to organize a prison that is completely waterproof.