HELSINKI. Feb 18 (Interfax) - The probe into the Russian cargo detained in a Finnish seaport allegedly on its way to Syria will last for several weeks, Finnish customs investigative department head Petri Lounatmaa told Interfax on Friday.
He said they had no right to name the consignor or the consignee at the initial stage of investigation but it looked like the cargo was sent from Russia to Syria.
The local media reported earlier that Finnish customs had detained tank spares dispatched from Russia to Syria. The media said the cargo was found inside a container transported by the Finnish dry cargo ship M/S Finnsun on February 8.
Lounatmaa said they had sent official inquiries to the Defense and Foreign Ministries.
The Defense Ministry replied there had been no request for transit or export of that cargo and no relevant permit had been issued, he said.
The officer stressed that delivery, export and transit of military equipment to Syria via Finland were outlawed by the EU Council.
Requests for legal and other assistance will be made to a number of countries in the course of the preliminary investigation, Lounatmaa said, adding that might take several weeks or even months.
The breach of a container's integrity was discovered in the examination of the M/S Finnsun at the Vuosaari port on February 8, the officer said.
The cargo manifest said it was dispatched to Syria. The cargo was taken to the Helsinki customs on February 8-9 for a more thorough examination, he said.
Specialists identified the cargo as tank spares.
The captain, a navigation officer and some other crewmembers have been questioned.
Meanwhile, Finnlines, the dry cargo ship owner, told Helsingin Sanomat on Friday that the outlawed cargo was found by the ship crew already in the Antwerp port on January 9 and sent to the Helsinki customs for investigation. The company said the cargo was loaded on the M/S Finnsun in St. Petersburg on December 20. It weighs 9,600 kilograms. The ship owner said it was fully cooperative with the investigators. All the crewmembers are Finns. None of them is detained or arrested.