The highest price a bicycle sold for was 220 euros at the auction in Lapland.

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Bicycles abandoned by asylum seekers when they crossed the Russian border into Finnish Lapland were auctioned in Salla on Saturday.

Earlier this spring, a similar auction was held in Vaalimaa, on Finland’s southeastern border with Russia.

A total of 190 bicycles and one scooter were offered for sale this weekend, with a maximum of 200 people present.

Senior Customs Inspector Timo Siivolawho acted as an auction broker, told Yle that the highest price for a bicycle was 220 euros. Most bicycles sold for between 30 and 60 euros.

Siivola said that buyers have been found for all the bikes.

“All the bikes have been sold, so to speak, because there has been a bid for all the bikes. But at this point we don’t know if they will all be picked up,” Siivola adds.

One of the cheapest bikes was bought by a 13 year old Huugo Kivipuro when he left the auction with a bicycle worth 1.24 euros (including VAT).

The bicycles now for sale were handed over to Finnish customs at the Salla and Raja-Jooseppi border crossings last fall and winter.

Bicycles imported from Russia, outside the European Union, must be cleared through customs or handed over to the state.

The asylum seekers who arrived at Finland’s eastern border last fall arrived by bicycle, as Russia complied with an outdated agreement that stipulated that border crossings could only take place by vehicle and not on foot.

However, Finland had already imposed a ban on the use of bicycles to cross the border and asylum seekers were leaving their bicycles at border crossings upon arrival.

Changes to Finland’s Border Act giving border authorities the right to turn back asylum seekers come into effect on Monday.