Updated 01.24 | Published 01.04
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full screenSofie Holmqvist from Noa’s investigation unit. Photo: Oscar Olsson/TT
The police and a number of other Swedish and foreign authorities joined forces at the border last week. The result was several arrests and the seizure of cash and assets worth SEK 20 million.
The effort was carried out in several places, including at the Öresund Bridge, over a couple of days. The goal was to control and, by extension, choke off the export of money, more precisely the proceeds of crime, which were on their way abroad to be laundered.
In addition to cash, luxury goods, such as expensive watches, were also confiscated. The police cannot say how many have been arrested and detained at the moment.
– We work in this flow every day, but don’t really know how we handle the daily work, says Sofie Holmqvist, deputy director at the National Operative Department’s (Noa) investigation unit.
The police have a rough idea of how much money is involved, but wanted to see if that image matched reality in a sort of random sample.
– And it seems it does, says Sofie Holmqvist.
In addition to authorities such as Säpo, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Swedish Customs Administration, the Danish police and Europol also participated in the operation.
– Above all, we worked with authority cooperation, which enabled us to enrich the situational picture in a better way, says Holmqvist.
Money that is laundered risks being reintroduced to Sweden and invested in further crime, she emphasizes.