– That’s where we realized that we have to do this together, because the narcotics move across the border even in the terrain, says Andreas Zelander, group leader for the police in Åre and Krokom.
The incident occurred in the pandemic year 2020 when the border between Sweden and Norway was closed and thus also roads such as the E14 that many travel through Jämtland County to get to Norway via Storlien.
The drug route through Jämtland
Norwegian customs official Asgeir on the drug seizures: It happens in waves
Train travelers are checked here in Storlien – EU action against drug smugglers
However, the smuggling of narcotics continued through alternative routes.
In the late autumn of 2020, two smugglers set off on foot across the southern Jämtlandsfjällen – near Storlien – with their sights set on Norway.
Smugglers caught in blizzard
But it didn’t go according to plan at all. The two smugglers got caught in severe mountain weather, the first snowstorm of the season, and were forced to call the mountain rescue.
It was after that incident that cooperation between police and customs in Jämtland county and the counterparts in Tröndelag in Norway began.
– Today we have a very strong collaboration with all the authorities in both countries, says Andreas Zelander.
The collaboration has resulted in several large seizures of narcotics.
Recently, for example, smugglers who made their way through the northern part of the county with a large batch of cocaine worth millions of kroner were revealed.
Some time ago, two smugglers were arrested in Härjedalen and tracked down by helicopter, they are currently serving long prison terms.