Former Finnish NHL player Karalahti faces prison sentence in drug case

Former NHL player Jere Karalahti was charged Tuesday with being involved in smuggling amphetamines into the country in a case involving 19 people, including a motorcycle gang.

The Espoo District Court opened the case against Karalahti and other suspects in a local prison for security reasons. If found guilty, Karalahti could face up to six years in prison.

The 32-year-old Karalahti was charged with being involved in smuggling four kilograms (nine pounds) of amphetamines into Finland. He also allegedly provided euro20,000 (US$29,500) for smuggling operations, prosecutors said. He has denied all the charges.

The drug ring is suspected of smuggling about 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of amphetamines and hundreds of grams (ounces) of cocaine from Estonia to Finland last year.

District prosecutor Erkki Huhtala said officers had tapped "thousands of phone calls" during the investigation, although Karalahti's phone was not tapped.

"He (Karalahti) featured quite heavily in phone contacts with the main suspects," Huhtala said. "Last summer, he was involved in more than 400 phone calls with the chief suspect so that says quite a lot about the relationship."

On Nov. 6, Karalahti's team, Karpat, took him off the ice during a practice session for police questioning. Three days later, he was arrested on suspicion of committing a serious drug offense.

The Finnish Hockey League temporarily banned Karalahti in December.

Karalahti left the NHL in 2002 after being suspended for six months for his third violation of the league's substance abuse policy. He played 121 games from 2000-02 for the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators.

Karalahti joined Karpat last year after agreeing to follow the club's strict rules on alcohol and drugs, putting him in contention for a return to Finland's national team for the upcoming world championships in Canada. Karalahti was voted an All-Star defenseman at the 1998 and '99 worlds.