Not Performance-Enhancing

In a rather shocking story from this morning, it appears that Philadelphia Flyers Finnish forward Jori Lehtera is in a wee bit of hot water. Lehtera, who is earning an obscene $4.7 million as player who hit 30 points just once in his career, has been named as one of 23 people in Finland being investigated for suspected distribution of cocaine in Finland. Lehtera has denied any involvement and the Flyers have no comment at this time, but this is a pretty incredible allegation against the centerman. If true, there will undoubtedly be jail time in Finland, and his NHL career would likely be over, but you have to wonder why Lehtera would even associate with anyone who does this when he has everything he could want and more thanks to his NHL contract.

As per the Google-translated and Teebz-corrected report on MTV.fi who filed the report, Lehtera was questioned by Finnish police about being involved. Words in brackets are the corrections made by me.

According to information from the MTV crime scene, the Finnish police suspect the ice hockey NHL club Philadelphia Flyers' Finnish player and national team striker Jori Lehterä coincided with a large cocaine defeat. [Lehtera] denies a suspected crime.

There are about two kilos of cocaine in the police investigation. The substance is suspected to be spread to the Tampere region and elsewhere in Pirkanmaa from January 2017. Cocaine sales have taken place in restaurants, for example.

There are currently 23 suspects. One of them is Lehterä.

According to the crime scene, [Lehtera] is suspected of a drug offense. In police investigations, [Lehtera] has denied having committed a crime.

The police do not take a stand on the names of the suspects because the pre-trial investigation is under way.

According to the information provided by the program, the police made catches on the cottages of the Lehterän Näsijärvi beach during summer. [Lehtera] was not among the captured at that time.

However, the police have questioned him about cocaine suspected drug offenses.

There are still seven prisoners still in prison. According to the police, the investigation is likely to be further expanded.

Those in custody are suspected of aggravated narcotics, professional crime, and money laundering. Among the detainees are a real estate agent and a freelance SM medalist.

The police have seized property, such as gold and jewelery, in the course of the investigation, worth about 650,000 euros.

According to the police, the country of origin of cocaine in Europe is the Netherlands. The material has been sold and sold at a [cost per gram] of 120 to 170 euros.

According to the police, cocaine users have been ordinary working people and so-called surface grippers who have more money to use the expensive substance.

The prosecutor decides whether to raise charges against Lehtera or other suspects. If the charges are brought, the courts will be judged in due time.

I'm fairly shocked about this. Lehtera can and should be seen as innocent until proven guilty, and it seems like his involvement is due to his presence or proximity to the cottages of the Lehterän Näsijärvi beach. If that's where the story ends, Lehtera seems to be free-and-clear of any wrong-doing.

For what it's worth, Lehterän Näsijärvi beach isn't translated well, but it appears that this may be the cottage that Lehtera owns on Lake Näsijärvi on the beachfront north of Tampere, Finland. It seems that these beachfront properties are where the investigation was taking place.

Of course, if he was involved in some way, that's a major problem. One would suspect that a two kilogram delivery of cocaine would require a wee bit of upfront cash to acquire said drug, and Lehtera's NHL salary would be more than enough to make that happen. Again, I'm just speculating here because I want to believe that Lehtera is innocent, but I can see how the police may come to question Lehtera if he was at those cottages this summer.

I'm not here to wish ill will towards anyone. I sincerely hope that Lehtera is found innocent of any charges and that his questioning by the police was them ruling the hockey star out of future investigative work. Trafficking drugs is a serious allegation, and I'm hoping the Flyers star is wearing the black-and-orange jersey rather than an orange jumpsuit in the foreseeable future.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!