1.4 tons of cocaine confiscated in certainly one of Sweden’s “greatest seizures ever made”

Swedish customs made one of many nation’s biggest-ever cocaine seizures after confiscating round 1.4 tons of the drug final week in a port close to Stockholm, an official informed Swedish tv on Tuesday.

“Whether it is as large as we predict, it is without doubt one of the greatest seizures ever made,” Stefan Granath of Swedish customs informed broadcaster SVT, including they have been nonetheless ready for a exact determine of how a lot was discovered.

The drug was found in a container within the Nynashamn port, south of Stockholm, on April 18, Granath mentioned. Six males have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in its transport.

Granath mentioned the drug possible was meant for the European market and that Sweden was solely a transit nation.”Simply 5 to 10 years in the past, it was very uncommon to grab solely 100 kilograms,” Granath informed SVT.

A report revealed earlier this month discovered that felony networks within the European Union are penetrating authorized companies throughout the 27-nation bloc. The networks are primarily concerned in drug trafficking and corruption, in keeping with the report. 

In current months European investigators have discovered massive quantities of cocaine stashed in distinctive areas. Portuguese investigators discovered 1.3 tons of cocaine hidden in frozen fish shipments in March. Dutch investigators discovered 17,600 kilos of cocaine hidden inside crates of bananas final August – the biggest haul ever collected in Rotterdam’s port, authorities mentioned.

Income from drug and arms trafficking have been invested in actual property, supermarkets, inns and different industrial actions, the report mentioned.

The quantity of cocaine seized by Swedish customs peaked in 2022, when 822 kilograms have been confiscated, in keeping with official figures. This was greater than 300 kilograms greater than the earlier document set in 2018.

Swedish radio mentioned the determine mirrored extra environment friendly search strategies and a rise within the circulate of medicine on the whole.