Finland Times

 Finnish Customs said on Tuesday that the number of serious drug related crimes has increased by 50 percent in the past year, and half of those convicted were foreigners.

     The number of serious cases rose to 300 in 2014 from 202 in 2013, said the customs. At the same time, the total customs crimes and drug crimes declined in numbers.

     There was a surge in confiscations of amphetamine and methamphetamine by Finnish customs. While in 2013 the amount totaled under six kilograms, in 2014 the customs found nearly 188 kilograms of these substances.

     The amount of methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (commonly known as ecstasy) showed a major increase: 58,000 tablets were confiscated in 2014 and the number a year earlier reached only 21,000.

     Besides the attempts to bring drugs to Finland, the country is also a transit gateway for smuggling.