Notorious gangster arrested again

One of Finland’s most notorious criminals, Raimo Tienhaara, has been arrested for aggravated drug crimes.

The 54 year-old, who was jailed for 11 years in the 1990s for offences he carried out during a previous prison sentence, was apprehended in Helsinki last week and remanded by the District Court.

The police drugs unit is refusing to release any details of the alleged crime while the investigation is still ongoing. “At this stage, I am not able to say anything about the nature of the case,” said Detective Inspector Heikki Miettinen in a Helsingin Sanomat report.

Tienhaara’s latest sentence was handed down after the Court of Appeal found him guilty of drug offences while serving a previous sentence for trafficking amphetamines and heroin. He also organised an assault on a lawyer and two members of the drugs squad from his cell.

According to Helsingin Sanomat, Tienhaara “has been described as a highly intelligent and formidable leader, who has never stopped at anything and has felt deep hatred against the police”. He has been free since 2006.