Finland busts group illegally sending thousands of drones to Russia

Authorities in Finland are holding suspects believed to have exported millions of dollars worth of drones and counter-UAV components to Russia, in violation of sanctions imposed by the European Union and the US over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Finnish Customs revealed it is continuing its investigations into the activities of two companies being charged will illegally exporting about 3,500 drones and controlled components for counter-UAV tech. Both businesses are owned by the same person now in custody, with one of the firms described as having worked in procurement of equipment while the other oversaw shipments out of the country.

In announcing their bust of the operation, authorities in Finland said the total value of gear sent to Russia for use in its nearly 22-month war in Ukraine rose to about €3 million ($3.32). That included about €600,000 ($646,000) worth of microcontrollers and semiconductor components for anti-UAV devices, which reports say have become must-have defense equipment for Russian units moving around occupied Ukraine territory. 

A calculation using figures supplied by Finnish Customs indicates the average price of each drone exported to Russia was about $575. That suggests most were largely consumer UAVs to be repurposed for military deployment in Ukraine. 

Those presumably included DJI models, which are still widely flown in the conflict and remain in great demand, despite the company having long halted sales in both nations to thwart the non-consumer and -enterprise use of its products.

Officials, who worked with EU and foreign law enforcement agencies, say the operation relied on listing drone shipments as destined for third-party nations, while actually delivering them to Russia. Hannu Sinkkonen, director of enforcement for Finland’s customs services, said the six operatives now under arrest were apparently working under orders from contacts abroad.

“Our preliminary investigation indicates that the activity has been run in Russia,” Sinkkonen said. “The scenario was based on an extensive network of internationally operated businesses through which the activity was funded, for example from Russia. In the preliminary investigation, we cooperated with authorities in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as with Europol, the EU law enforcement authority.”

The news reaffirms just how critical foreign-supplied UAVs remain for both countries. 

Though Ukraine recently said it had managed to considerably increase its domestic manufacturing of small- and medium-sized drones, Russia’s own augmented production is said to be six-times higher. Both levels, however, remain insufficient for forces now fiercely battling each other in the eastern and southern occupied territories of Ukraine.

According to one knowledgeable sector professional in Europe, the resulting demands for mass-made drones from abroad are apparently generating the multiplying requests some EU companies are receiving to act as purchasing and transport agents. 

The source says those solicitations usually come from people claiming to represent humanitarian organizations needing professional procurement help, but who are widely suspected of being Moscow allies seeking to skirt international sanctions on Russia.