Junk|The drug store in Katri Vala park has been known to the Helsinki police for a long time, says Chief Commissioner Heikki Porola.
When the police are on duty in Piritori, the drug trade flourishes a couple of blocks away in Sörnäis’s Katri Vala park. Found this Editor of HS during the weekend while moving in the area.
“It is typical that if the police supervises somewhere effectively, the problem is transferred to someone else. It doesn’t end with police measures,” says the chief inspector Heikki Porola from the Helsinki police.
According to Porola, the police strive to be seen the most where people move the most. According to him, it is well aware of the drug trade in Katri Vala park.
“It has been known as a surveillance target for several years.”
Piritori i.e. Vaasanpuistikko in Alppiharju and Katri Vala park, according to Porola, are nowhere near the only objects of visible and invisible surveillance in the Kallio region. However, he does not list other places.
People living near the Katri Vala park told HS about their observations related to the drug trade and their frustration with the drug syringes and medicine packages lying around. Not fully operational according to the residents of the surrounding area not finished with Piritori either.
Previously, HS has told about the drug trade in Kaisaniemi as well.
Over the decades, the Kallio region has changed: the residents are different, the apartments are expensive. However, if something is constant, it is the drug trade, notes Porola.
“I’ve been a police officer for over 40 years and I know that this and that happens in Kallio.”
Porola partly blames the events on the fact that there are many people living alone in the area.
“What’s distinctive is that it’s part of the city of singles. Where [yksineläviä] is a lot, so it hurts there and happens quite often.”
HS described on Sunday, a shopping event near the Sörnäinen metro station. The woman, who appeared to be a beggar on the outside, solicited potential customers and sometimes talked with a group of men. The group, on the other hand, picked up packages from a nearby park for potential customers.
Porola recognizes similar situations.
“Yes, there has always been some kind of guidance to find the market.”
Most the products sold in the drug store have changed. According to Porola, “traditional drugs” have become fewer and have been replaced by various conversion drugs and medicines.
In addition to narcotics, the street shop also sells food. On Vilhonvuorenkuja, tentacles and meat are sold, among other things.
“Theft loss is increasing”, says the shopkeeper of K-Market Kallio and K-Market Hämeentie 42 located in Hämeentie Mikael Qvickström.
Qvickström says that there have been no dramatic changes in the products that can be stolen, but tentacles and meat have long been targets of theft. More valuable cheeses have also been trampled. Efforts have been made to prevent theft by increasing supervision and training, as well as monitoring products prone to theft.
Qvickström according to the parties who cause the problem, who buy stolen foodstuffs.
“The problem is who buys the stolen products. Whether it’s a restaurant or private consumers, I can’t say,” he ponders and adds that buying stolen foodstuffs such as meat is already quite risky in terms of food safety due to broken cold chains.
He doesn’t have exact numbers for this year yet, but the police and security guards have to be called to the scene from time to time.
According to High Commissioner Porola, alcohol products have started to be in the minority in street food stores these days. Porola has not specifically heard about the popularity of tentacles in street shops, but according to him, they may very well be in fashion, so to speak.
Porola cannot think of individual cases where, for example, restaurants would have bought stolen food.
“It is possible. Tax evasions have come to light. But not to the point of becoming a phenomenon right now.”
Correction 30.9. 3:41 p.m.: The syringe in the main picture was filmed in Katri Vala Park on Sunday, not Saturday.
Correction 30.9. at 4:01 p.m.: Corrected Grocery store name: K-Market Hämeentie 42, not Hämeenkatu 42.
Correction September 30, 2024 at 5:08 p.m.: Corrected the text and caption to Vilhovuorenkuja to Vilhonvuorenkuja.
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