The 10 tonnes of Chinese-made blocks were ground up for use as energy waste in Anjalankoski on Thursday. They originally entered Finland through the port of Hamina almost two years ago. Finnish border officials intercepted them at the Vaalimaa border point on their way to Russia.
There is a growing black market for replicas of brand-name toys, and Finland is the main route for fake toys heading into Russia. However the work of ascertaining the legitimacy and origin of such products is often time-consuming.
These toys were exact copies of Legos without the company logo. They could not be donated as they included heavy metals that could be dangerous to tots. The Danish toymaker ended up paying for the storage and destruction of the bootleg blocks, as the original manufacturer could not be located.
Meanwhile another load of fake toys was seized at Vaalimaa on Thursday. Altogether Finnish customs officials have confiscated 25 million euros' worth of pirated goods so far this year. The European Union seizes some two billion euros worth annually. Both figures only represent a fraction of the actual black-market trade.