Earlier this week, the mayor of Oslo sounded the alarm that drug smugglers were targeting the Oslo port. The Swedish Customs Service sees the same tendencies in Sweden and believes that ports in the Nordics have become a target for the criminal networks, as a result of tougher controls in major European ports.
Gill Eriksson at the Swedish Customs Service says that it is likely a result of the authorities in Holland and Belgium having become efficient in their work in finding the large consignments of cocaine.
– The consequence of that is that the criminal networks lose the large loads of cocaine. Then they need to find other opportunities to get the cocaine to Europe, which is the reason why it ends up both in Norway, but also in Sweden, she says.
Signs of an increase
Gill Eriksson agrees with the picture painted by Oslo’s mayor and believes that there is a risk that Sweden has become a first destination for cocaine shipments from South America.
– We see that the criminal networks are turning their eyes to the Nordics now and that is something we must prepare for and we must do what we can to stop the cocaine, says Gill.
In addition, the Swedish Customs Service sees that the seized cocaine goes to ports all over Sweden. Gill Eriksson mentions Helsingborg and Nynäshamn as examples, where large seizures have been made. These are ports that a number of years ago were not at all relevant for cocaine smuggling, previously most came via the Port of Gothenburg and was seized there.
Is on the ball
The change in cocaine’s route to or via Sweden has been rapid, but Gill Eriksson believes that the Customs Service is ready. There is a well-functioning cooperation with the intelligence side in other European countries, with Swedish authorities such as the Police and also with the individual ports.
– I think it is very important that we, together with other authorities and ports, do what we can to curb the risks. What we can do is try to identify the networks and stop the entry and together make sure that it becomes more difficult for the networks to get into the ports, she says.
With the increased cooperation between authorities in Sweden and in other countries, she believes that there are good opportunities to deal with the problems.
– There is a risk that Sweden is a first destination for cocaine shipments from South America, something we have to find working methods for. We are well on our way to doing that, so I would say that we are on the ball quite well, says Gill Eriksson.