Stopping at the Lieksan Autogrilli snack kiosk and ordering some beers to take away, Eskelinen was surprised to find that the staff could not just hand them out through the window.
Instead, he was asked to go around to the back of the kiosk, was let inside, and only then sold the beer that he had asked for.
The owner of the snack bar, Leena Tuomainen, confirmed that this is normal practice under the tough terms of alcohol retail licenses.
"Customers have to be let in through the back door into the sale premises. I feel that it's a safety risk," says Tuomainen.
Laws governing the sale of alcohol for retailers like Lieksan Autogrilli state that these sales must take place on the premises specified in their license. This means indoors.
As a policeman, Ari Eskelinen agrees that opening a locked back door for customers to enter is risky. He has now written an open letter about his experience and the potential dangers of this regulation to Member of Parliament Kari Kulmala, who himself is also a police officer.
Kulmala told Yle that he intends take up the issue with fellow MPs.