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Customs seize 180,000 tablets as five charged in smuggling case
🇸🇪 Sweden /Crime & Justice

Customs seize 180,000 tablets as five charged in smuggling case

From Dagens Nyheter · () Swedish

Translated from Swedish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement In the courts
  • Swedish Customs seized 180,000 tablets shipped from the Netherlands in March, including pregabalin and tramadol.
  • The investigation led to charges against five people suspected of involvement in an organized network that allegedly smuggled narcotic medicines into Sweden.
  • The suspects deny wrongdoing, and prosecutors filed the indictment with Södertörn District Court.

A pallet containing 180,000 narcotic-classified tablets was intercepted in March, exposing what Swedish Customs described as an organized smuggling network linked to the Netherlands.

The shipment contained 90,000 pregabalin tablets and slightly more than 90,000 tramadol tablets. It was addressed to a 19-year-old woman in Botkyrka, south of Stockholm, and was due to go to a rented storage unit in her name. According to the investigation, a 22-year-old man collected it instead.

This case shows that extensive organized smuggling of narcotic medicines manufactured in the Netherlands and then smuggled into Sweden is taking place.

— Teresia WatzerA Swedish Customs criminal investigations official described the broader pattern indicated by the case.

Both were arrested soon afterward. Investigators then found that another pallet of narcotic-classified tablets had arrived from the Netherlands a week earlier. An 18-year-old man in Sundbyberg was listed as the recipient, while a 53-year-old man collected the delivery.

Customs later seized what it described as a larger quantity of tramadol tablets during a raid in Tyresö, outside Stockholm. The 18-year-old and 53-year-old men were arrested, and a 19-year-old man was later detained after investigators examined seized mobile phones.

The Customs investigation has been extensive and involved many suspects. We have had close cooperation with various units within the Swedish Police Authority, as the investigation shows that the perpetrators are also suspected of other serious crimes.

— Teresia WatzerWatzer described cooperation with Swedish police and the scope of the investigation.

Teresia Watzer, a group leader at the Customs criminal investigations department in eastern Sweden, said the case showed that large-scale organized smuggling involved narcotic medicines manufactured in the Netherlands and brought into Sweden. She said Customs worked closely with Swedish police and French authorities because one suspect was in France and had to be extradited.

Prosecutors filed charges against five people at Södertörn District Court on Monday. Swedish Customs said all suspects deny the allegations.

We also cooperated with French police because one of our suspects was in France and had to be requested for extradition.

— Teresia WatzerShe explained the international cooperation used to bring one suspect into the Swedish proceedings.
About this summary

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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