Finnish airport intercepts 'illegal dual-use' equipment headed for Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Finnish Customs, Tulli, on Monday revealed that they had intercepted an illegal shipment at Helsinki airport headed for Iraq, which is currently at the final stage of its investigation.

In December 2017, at Helsinki-Vantaa airport, Customs inspected goods consignment placed under export procedure by a Finnish company, with Iraq as the country of destination, Customs Tulli said in a statement.

They found a mass spectrometer, a device used to measure the masses of isotopes, molecules, and molecular fragments.

According to Finland’s Foreign Ministry, cited in the Customs Tulli statement, a mass spectrometer is a ‘dual use’ device, which means it could be used for both civilian and military purposes.

The device was originally imported from the US, where the supplier was informed that Finland was the final destination for the product.

Exporting the dual-use equipment from the US to Europe does not require an official license, but if it is exported outside the EU, then permission from Finnish authorities or the US would be required, the Finnish customs regulator added.

The intercepted shipment did not have the appropriate licenses to export the device to Iraq.

Following the confiscation of the product, customs officials started to investigate the case, namely after the confirmation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that a mass spectrometer was a dual-use device.

The investigation by Customs is in the final stages and in summer 2019, the matter will be assigned to the Prosecutor’s Office of Itä-Uusimaa for consideration of charges.

The CEO and members of the board of the Finnish company that imported the mass spectrometer could face charges in this matter.

Editing by Nadia Riva