Milan Jaff deported from Finland in the early hours of Tuesday, ending one of the most closely followed deportation cases in recent Finnish criminal and immigration history. The 25-year-old was removed from the country during a coordinated Frontex operation and flown from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport to Baghdad, according to information obtained by Iltalehti.
The removal flight left Helsinki at 03:48 and was operated by Freebird Airlines. The aircraft made scheduled stops in Malmo and Vienna before landing in Baghdad at 14:15 local time. A passenger on the flight told Finnish media that the operation involved dozens of deportees and around 150 officials, including police and border authorities.
The Helsinki Police Department later confirmed that the flight was a joint deportation involving individuals from several countries. Chief Superintendent Simo Kauppinen, head of the permit and immigration unit, said that multiple passengers on board had final deportation orders linked to serious criminal convictions.
Milan Jaff, an Iraqi national, had his Finnish residence permit revoked earlier this year by the Finnish Immigration Service. The decision included a permanent entry ban covering all Schengen states and European Union member countries.
Jaff appealed the ruling to the Helsinki Administrative Court, which rejected his complaint. A further appeal was filed with the Supreme Administrative Court, but the court did not suspend enforcement of the deportation order, allowing authorities to proceed with removal.
According to Iltalehti, Jaff had been held at the Joutseno detention centre in Lappeenranta since August, following his release from prison. He had publicly stated that he did not want to return to Iraq and claimed he had no remaining ties to the country.
Jaff arrived in Finland in 2017 at the age of 17 during the peak of the refugee influx. Over the following years, he built up an extensive criminal record.
His first conviction came in 2019 at the age of 19. Later convictions included attempted manslaughter, rape, serious drug offences, and the planning of an armed attack on the Kaivohuone nightclub in Helsinki. He was also found guilty of firing shots at a house party in Espoo.
In October 2022, the District Court of Eastern Uusimaa sentenced Jaff to ten years in prison. The Helsinki Court of Appeal later reduced the sentence to six years and two months in 2024, ruling that the so-called Kurdish Mafia group did not meet the legal definition of an organised criminal organisation.
While serving his sentence, Jaff was assaulted by other inmates in 2023. He was released from Turku prison in August 2024 and immediately transferred into immigration detention, where he remained until the deportation was carried out.
His criminal profile and public visibility made him a central figure in Finland’s national debate on street violence and youth crime. A 2024 non-fiction book titled “Like brothers, the truth about Finland’s street gangs” described Jaff as a frontman rather than a decision-maker, suggesting he may have been used as a public shield by others within the network.
During the deportation, Jaff was reportedly escorted by several officers throughout the journey. After landing in Baghdad, he was transported by car to the Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
A family member told Iltalehti that the return came as a shock to relatives, particularly to his mother, who had not been informed in advance of the exact timing of the removal.
The operation was part of a wider Nordic return effort coordinated by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex, involving deportees from multiple European countries.
