On Friday, South Karelia District Court considers the case of a doctor from the eastern town of Lappeenranta who is charged with unlawful practice of healthcare.
Yle has learned that the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) cancelled the physician's license to write prescriptions last September.
The doctor had written a large number of questionable prescriptions - mostly for central nervous system drugs, and many of them for addicts. According to one pharmacy that reported to Valvira, the physician prescribed large volumes of such drugs to "street trafficking gangs".
Pharmacies also under scrutiny
In December 2008, the provincial government had asked the doctor to stop practicing medicine independently. Valvira says the individual agreed to do so, but continued to prescribe pharmaceuticals for patients and for a Russian clinic. Lappeenranta is some 30 kilometres from the Russian border.
The Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea) is investigating the pharmacies linked to the doctor, most of which are in South Karelia. It expects to wrap up the probe within a few weeks.