File Photo: Jari Aarnio. Photo – Lehtikuva.
The three police officers, who were arrested on Saturday for their alleged involvement in the corruption charges brought against Helsinki Police’s detained Drug Unit chief Jari Aarnio, have been released from the custody.
The head of the investigating team, Jukka Haavisto confirmed that the three police officers were set free on Sunday while another one was set free earlier.
The officers are suspected of breach of duty and were held in connection to Jari Aarnio's alleged drug related offences which are currently being investigated.
He also added that investigations regarding their involvement in the matter were still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the defence lawyer of Aarnio claimed that the investigations were related to a disagreement between the police drug squad and the National Bureau of Investigation that took place during a joint operation of the two groups in the past.
On December 13, assets worth about half a million euro – owned by Jari Aarnio – had been confiscated following a court order.
Helsinki district court proclaimed the order for freezing Aarnio’s assets, which he allegedly earned from undisclosed sources.
Aarnio was arrested on November 12 on charges of various crimes including taking bribe from a private company.
He is also suspected for receiving kickbacks from Trevoc Company and being involved in the procurement of supplies from the same company for his employer.
Earlier, the authority investigating the graft allegations also traced a huge amount of undeclared money spent by Aarnio. He was accused of spending more than EUR 200,000 from unknown sources.
The money spent for his housing project – under construction in Porvoo – was much higher than the amount showed by the police officer from his salary and bank loans.
Sources said the plot was bought against Aarnio's son’s name, although he did not have taxable income, while his wife had zero income. The plot was used to build a house, garage and sauna.
