NBI Probes Deliberate Cable Cuts That Halted Trains in Ylöjärvi and Disrupted Telecoms in Malmi

The National Bureau of Investigation is probing two deliberate cable-cutting incidents, one in Ylöjärvi on June 19 that halted rail traffic and a second in Malmi, Helsinki on June 26, Aamulehti reports.

In Ylöjärvi on Midsummer Eve, fiber-optic cables were cut, forcing train services between Tampere and Seinäjoki to be suspended for several hours. Investigators have opened a preliminary investigation on suspicion of aggravated criminal damage. The cuts appear deliberate. Police ask anyone who was near Terätie or the Vaasantie end of Keijärventie between about 18:00 and 19:00 on June 19 to contact them; those people are not considered suspects.

In Malmi on June 26, telecom cables were severed and local data connections were disrupted. That case is being investigated as aggravated criminal damage and aggravated disruption of telecommunications, and authorities are asking witnesses to come forward.

The Ylöjärvi incident follows an earlier March case that halted train traffic in the same corridor a March train halt.

YLE adds that KRP took over the Ylöjärvi probe and that the motives remain unknown, with lead investigator Jussi Luoto stating, “There are no signs of that at this stage,” regarding hybrid influence. It also specifies that train traffic stopped after 18:00 and that services were disrupted until repairs were completed the following night. YLE provides further witness-location detail (Terätie and Keijärventie) and notes police observed people in vehicles, on bicycles and on foot, while also stating those witnesses are not suspected. Finally, YLE reports the Malmi case was last Friday morning near Takoraudantie.