Offbeat

Archived version: https://archive.ph/aadYc

A man living in the village of Kållby in the Ostrobothnian municipality of Pedersöre in the west of Finland, found 12 kilograms of dynamite in two cars he owned on Thursday last week.

The dynamite had been stored in the cars by an acquaintance of the man, also from Pedersöre.

Tony Rauma, Detective Chief Inspector with the Ostrobothnia Police, confirmed that the two individuals knew each other prior to the incident.

"The suspect had called the owner of the cars to say that he had taken dynamite to the cars for storage. According to his own words, he had done it as a joke," Rauma told Yle.

The owner of the cars did not take it as a joke and called the police.

"In addition to the dynamite, detonators were also confiscated from the cars," said Rauma.

Police had to evacuate nearby buildings because of the large quantity of explosives. A police bomb squad from Seinäjoki removed the dynamite from the cars.

Terrorist act ruled out

The suspect was arrested later that day. He was later released, but is suspected of an explosives offence.

The suspect has admitted the crime to the police, but said he did not intend to blow up the cars. Police have also ruled out any possible terrorist intent.

It is not yet known for sure where the explosives came from, as there is no criminal record in the police register that would match the quantity of dynamite used in the prank.

"However, the suspect has access to a deserted house where the dynamite may have come from," said Rauma.

The explosives offence carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

The case was first reported in local newspaper Österbottens Tidning.