Police were able to test blood from dead mosquito found in stolen car to identify suspect
Police in Finland came up with the innovative idea
Niamh Shackleton
Police are always thinking out side the box when it comes to locating suspects.
Previously, the likes of the Italian police force have used a severed finger to help them find an on-the-run criminal after discovering the leftover appendage at a crime scene.
But Finnish police were even more imaginative and used a dead mosquito to aid their investigation.
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Back in 2008, officers were inspecting a dumped stolen car in Lapua, Finland, when they noticed the insect.
I mean, that alone is impressive as mosquitos are the kings (and queens) of stealth.
Upon noticing the bug, police thought it was full-looking and wondered if it had bitten the person responsible for stealing the vehicle.
The mosquito was sent to a lab for testing and was found to contain DNA that was on the police database.
But the suspect whose blood it was insisted that it wasn't them who stole the car when he was brought in for questioning.
They claimed that they'd hitchhiked a ride from a male driver.
At the time of the enquiry, it was left to a judge to decide if the mosquito evidence was admissible or not.
Police inspector Sakari Palomaeki said at the time: 'It is not easy to find a small mosquito in a car. This just shows how thorough the crime scene investigation was."
"It is not usual to use mosquitoes," he went on to quip. "In training we were not told to keep an eye on mosquitoes at crime scenes."
Several years on from the ordeal, it's unknown if they were able to use the blood sample from the insect as evidence and what was the result of the investigation.
UNILAD has contacted the Finnish police for any updates on the case.
Making sure it's the right person you're putting behind bars is hugely important, not only because it'll affect someone's life, but because it could lead to a huge lawsuit at a later date.
In recent years, it was found that Clarence Moses-el wrongly severed 25 years behind bars, and went on to be awarded a whopping $2 million in damages.
Moses-el had a retrial in 2016 following another man admitting to the assault and was acquitted of all charges.
"This moment is a moment I’ve fought for for a long time," he told The Denver Post at the time.
"I just want to get home to my family, my grandchildren. It’s wonderful, I waited a long time for this."