Media reports drug traces discovery in EU state parliament
According to Finland’s Yle News, tests conducted on toilet samples in parliament after early Christmas parties revealed the presence of cocaine and MDMA. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Yle News has reported that samples collected from the toilets of Finland's parliament after Christmas parties tested positive for cocaine and MDMA.
An investigation by Yle News revealed that multiple traces of illicit substances were found in the parliament following events hosted by various political parties in November.
In a Monday article, Yle disclosed that reporters had gathered samples from six restroom cubicles, both men's and women's, during the parliamentary parties. Laboratory tests subsequently detected traces of amphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine in half of the stalls.
Kalle Lagerblom, the chief operating officer at Measurlabs testing facility, told Yle that the “residues are very small, but there are clearly [drug] residues.”
The report clarifies that the samples do not necessarily mean that drugs were consumed within the parliamentary restrooms. Lagerblom explained that a person who used the facilities might have been in contact with drugs previously, either directly or indirectly. “In principle, it is enough for a person to have been on a bus and sat on a seat contaminated with drugs, with some of the substance ending up stuck on their clothes,” he told reporters.
Aside from lawmakers, the Christmas parties were attended by parliamentary employees, ministerial aides, and journalists.
When responding to the findings, Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho expressed that “it is of course sad and pathetic that there are signs in Parliament that people who may work here are using drugs.”
Antti Pelttari, the Secretary General of the Finnish Parliament, described the results as an “unfortunate surprise.” Halla-aho noted, however, that there is little the legislature can do to tackle the issue, acknowledging that implementing measures like placing a “sniffer dog at the door of Parliament to check everyone who enters” would likely not gain enough support.
Last January, Sweden's daily tabloid Aftonbladet conducted a similar investigation within that country’s parliament, testing samples from eight different party offices. The newspaper reported finding traces of cocaine in half of the samples analyzed.
In August 2022, former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin faced scrutiny after videos surfaced of a private party she attended. Some individuals in the footage allegedly referred to themselves as a “flour gang,” with ‘flour’ being Finnish slang for cocaine.
Ultimately, the drug test results for Marin were negative, and she maintained that she had never used controlled substances in her life.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
An investigation by Yle News revealed that multiple traces of illicit substances were found in the parliament following events hosted by various political parties in November.
In a Monday article, Yle disclosed that reporters had gathered samples from six restroom cubicles, both men's and women's, during the parliamentary parties. Laboratory tests subsequently detected traces of amphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine in half of the stalls.
Kalle Lagerblom, the chief operating officer at Measurlabs testing facility, told Yle that the “residues are very small, but there are clearly [drug] residues.”
The report clarifies that the samples do not necessarily mean that drugs were consumed within the parliamentary restrooms. Lagerblom explained that a person who used the facilities might have been in contact with drugs previously, either directly or indirectly. “In principle, it is enough for a person to have been on a bus and sat on a seat contaminated with drugs, with some of the substance ending up stuck on their clothes,” he told reporters.
Aside from lawmakers, the Christmas parties were attended by parliamentary employees, ministerial aides, and journalists.
When responding to the findings, Speaker of Parliament Jussi Halla-aho expressed that “it is of course sad and pathetic that there are signs in Parliament that people who may work here are using drugs.”
Antti Pelttari, the Secretary General of the Finnish Parliament, described the results as an “unfortunate surprise.” Halla-aho noted, however, that there is little the legislature can do to tackle the issue, acknowledging that implementing measures like placing a “sniffer dog at the door of Parliament to check everyone who enters” would likely not gain enough support.
Last January, Sweden's daily tabloid Aftonbladet conducted a similar investigation within that country’s parliament, testing samples from eight different party offices. The newspaper reported finding traces of cocaine in half of the samples analyzed.
In August 2022, former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin faced scrutiny after videos surfaced of a private party she attended. Some individuals in the footage allegedly referred to themselves as a “flour gang,” with ‘flour’ being Finnish slang for cocaine.
Ultimately, the drug test results for Marin were negative, and she maintained that she had never used controlled substances in her life.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
