Duct-taped outboard theft ring sentenced in southern Finland
A Pirkanmaa district court has sentenced two Lithuanian men to prison terms for an almost half-million-euro outboard motor theft spree in southern Finland, with one also convicted of aggravated drug trafficking.
YLE reports that Pirkanmaan district court has sentenced two Lithuanian men to prison terms for a near half-million-euro outboard motor theft spree, with one also convicted of aggravated drug offences.
Aurimas Gecevicius, 35, received an unconditional prison sentence of two years and nine months, while Algirdas Toleikis, 54, was sentenced to two years and four months for the same outboard motor crimes. The court found that the men committed six aggravated thefts, or attempted thefts, between 2024 and 2025. The motors were stolen from boat workshops and boat storage sites in Valkeakoski, Porvoo, Sipoo, Raasepori and Raisio.
The court said the largest single theft took place in Valkeakoski in September 2025, when 18 outboard motors worth nearly 200,000 euros were stolen, and another major theft in the area earlier involved motors worth about 100,000 euros. The judges also described the crimes as highly systematic: the men reportedly scouted targets in advance, cut holes in net fences, and transported the motors by van to a truck, with the goods sent through Estonia and Latvia to Lithuania. Vehicles with partly false number plates, misleading names and unregistered phone subscriptions were also used to stay unidentified.
In the separate drug case, Yle reports that Toleikis was convicted for aggravated drug trafficking involving cocaine, including import and possession, committed in May 2023. The court rejected a request to treat the thefts as part of organised criminal group activity. Gecevicius was originally charged with all six thefts but was found guilty on five, while Toleikis admitted all offences and received a slightly lighter sentence due to his contribution to the investigation. The men must pay more than 300,000 euros in damages to insurers and private claimants, and they will forfeit 116,620 euros to the state as criminal proceeds, as well as the vehicles used. The sentences are not yet final, and both the defendants and the prosecutor have said they are dissatisfied.
Catch the full story over at YLE
