On Wednesday, it was announced that Philadelphia Flyers centre Jori Lehtera was a suspect in a cocaine bust in Finland. The police claim to have seized two kilos (4.4 lbs) in a raid and have begun questioning suspects. They claim to have 23 suspects in the cocaine ring that started up last January.
According to a report, #Flyers centre Jori Lehtera has been questioned by police in Finland in connection with a cocaine ring. His cottage in Tampere was reportedly raided this summer. Lehtera has denied any involvement and no charges have been filed. https://t.co/58FUpWRgKd
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 26, 2018
Jori Lehtera Possibly Involved in Finnish Cocaine Ring
Multiple reports say that Lehtera’s home was raided by the police, but he was not there at the time. The police involved said, “According to the information provided by the program, the police made catches on the cottages of the [Lehtera’s] beach during summer. [Lehtera] was not among the captured at that time.” Despite the raids, Lehtera denies any involvement in the crime. So far there have been seven arrests in correlation with the bust. On top of the two kilos of cocaine, the police have seized roughly $700,000 in related assets.
Lehtera is entering his fifth NHL season. The 30-year-old was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2008 but has spent most of the time since then in European leagues. This included a tenure in the KHL, between 2010 and 2014. He also played in the SM-Liga, Finland’s premier league, between 2006 and 2010.
In the NHL, Lehtera’s numbers have been all over. He saw decreasing points in his three seasons with the Blues, scoring 44, 34, and 22 in each respective season. The declining scoring was enough for Lehtera to be on the trade block entering the 2017 NHL Draft. The Blues made that trade happen when they dealt him to the Philadelphia Flyers, along with some draft picks, for Brayden Schenn. In his first year in Philadelphia, Lehtera only played in 62 games and scored 8 points.
Lehtera is currently in a race to make the lineup out of training camp. Multiple sources say the likelihood of this might not be great after players like Jordan Weal and Corban Knight have had such strong camps.
The Flyers have not released any statement on this ordeal.
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