The former head of Helsinki drugs police Jari Aarnio has been released from prison, despite an ongoing murder investigation.
Aarnio was arrested earlier this week in connection with a police investigation into the contract killing of a Swedish-Turkish citizen.
Volkan Unsal was killed in October 2003. He had been part of a robbery plot at Stockholm’s Arlanda airport, and later entered a witness protection programme, which he later quit.
Three Finnish citizens and one Swede who ordered the contract killing had previously been convicted over Unsal’s death.
Now, Finnish police are looking into whether Aarnio knew in advance about the killing, but didn’t try to prevent it. Another suspect in the case is former gang leader Keijo Vilhunen.
“Arnio said that the police could not have prevented the murder” says his lawyer Riitta Leppiniemi.
Aarnio has been serving a 13 year prison sentence for corruption and drugs offenses. He was once the head of Helsinki’s drugs squad, famed for getting results in the war against drugs in the capital. He has been under investigation for a string of offenses allegedly committed while he held senior positions in the Helsinki police force.
