Finnish police say organised crime networks recruited teenagers to carry out a contract killing attempt linked to a drug debt, after a fire in a residential building in Vantaa placed dozens of residents in danger last December.
The investigation by Helsinki Police centres on a stairwell fire in the Korso district of Vantaa on 17 December 2025. Authorities suspect two boys aged 15 set the blaze as part of a planned murder attempt targeting a relative of a person who owed money from a drug deal.
The case forms part of a larger investigation involving organised crime groups with links to Sweden and a street gang operating in northern Helsinki. Police suspect the crimes formed part of a wider system in which criminal groups recruit young people to carry out violent acts in exchange for payment.
The preliminary investigation has now moved to prosecutors. Ten people face suspicion of involvement in the case. Seven remain in custody, including three who were 15 at the time of the events.
Investigators state the chain of events began with a failed narcotics transaction in December 2025. According to police, the deal led to a debt that triggered threats and retaliation.
Soon after the transaction, three men went to an apartment in Helsinki searching for the person who owed money. The individual was not present. A couple and their young child were inside the apartment at the time.
Police say the suspects threatened the occupants with violence unless they revealed the debtor’s location. At least one suspect carried a firearm. The suspects also threatened to blow up the apartment. The incident ended when the suspects took a passport and a mobile phone from the apartment. Authorities investigate the event as aggravated robbery.
A few days later, the case escalated. On 17 December, a fire broke out in the stairwell of a block of flats in Korso. Investigators say the blaze was set deliberately outside the door of an apartment belonging to a close relative of the person linked to the drug debt.
The stairwell served as the only exit from the building. Flames and smoke filled the space within minutes. Rescue services evacuated residents through windows as the fire spread through the entrance area.
According to police, the blaze ignited with explosive force after flammable liquid was used. Investigators say the situation created an immediate threat to life for everyone inside the stairwell.
Markku Juurikkamäki, detective chief inspector leading the investigation, said the fire formed part of a planned attempt to kill.
“The investigation shows the arson targeted the apartment connected to the person earlier sought by the suspects,” he said in a statement released by Helsinki Police.
He said emergency crews arrived quickly and brought the fire under control before it spread into the apartment itself.
“Serious injuries were avoided only through chance,” Juurikkamäki said.
Police suspect adults organised the attack and instructed two of the teenagers to carry out the arson. Investigators say the organisers obtained a mobile phone and a subscription used to guide the teenagers during the operation.
One of the boys allegedly ignited the fire using flammable liquid according to instructions sent through the phone.
Authorities state the teenagers were promised payment ranging from hundreds to several thousand euros. Investigators believe the payment never reached them.
Four suspects face investigation for attempted murder and aggravated sabotage through arson. All four remain in custody.
During the investigation police uncovered evidence of drug trafficking involving the teenagers. Officers arrested one suspect during a narcotics transaction in which he transferred three kilograms of amphetamine.
At the time of the arrest police seized a functioning firearm and about 7,000 euros in cash from the suspect.
Investigators also identified an apartment used to store and distribute drugs. Police say three of the 15-year-olds used the location in connection with the narcotics trade.
Officers seized about 15 kilograms of amphetamine and more than 10,000 euros in cash from the apartment.
Police believe the narcotics originated in Sweden and that criminal actors directed the operation from outside Finland. Authorities state drug trafficking and the retaliation linked to the debt were organised abroad and coordinated through contacts in Finland.
Several suspects hold connections to a street gang active in northern Helsinki. According to police, members of the group participated in parts of the operation.
Investigators state the suspects hold citizenship of Finland, Somalia, Kosovo and Iraq. Two suspects hold dual nationality, one with Finland and Somalia and another with Finland and Kosovo.
Kimmo Sainio, detective inspector at Helsinki Police, said the case reflects a form of organised crime known as “crime as a service”, in which criminal groups hire others to carry out violent acts.
“This is a worrying development if children are recruited,” he said.
Police say the model has appeared in Sweden in recent years. In those cases criminal groups recruited young people outside family care systems who faced limited criminal liability due to age.
Finnish authorities now see signs of the same pattern inside the country. Police state that in earlier investigations Swedish criminals travelled to Finland to carry out violent crimes. Recent cases show criminal networks recruiting individuals already inside Finland.
Sainio said the development places young people and bystanders at risk.
“Setting fires in apartment stairwells or business premises creates a real danger that someone not connected to the dispute loses their life,” he said.
HT