The prosecution believes they can provide evidence of the receipt and storage of a total of 164.8 kilograms of amphetamine. A 44-year-old who is described in the indictment as the ringleader, and a 47-year-old assistant risk long sentences. Another networker was sentenced to 14 years in prison last year. The network in Eastern Norway was uncovered after French police managed to trick the criminals into a trap. EncroChat was a very important tool for drug trafficking, and was also used in Norway. Criminals thought they were sending messages on a secret, encrypted chat service. But in reality it was the police who had installed the software. Thus the police could read everything. Some of this led to Norway. So amphetamines are put in the trunk – The uncovering of encrypted Encrochat messages has been very important in this case and other drug cases. This led to Kripos receiving a large amount of messages from the French police that were supposed to apply to Norwegian users, says prosecutor Carl Fredrik Fari. PROSECUTOR: Carl Fredrik Fari. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB The police found, among other things, reports of a possible handover in Bærum on 21 April 2020. Detectives from the police were lying in wait at a car park where the handover was to take place. The police saw a man leave a car. Another man then put a package in the unlocked trunk. When the first man collected the car again, the police intervened and arrested the two. The man who put the drug in the trunk has confessed, and was sentenced to 14 years in prison last September. The police found 39.8 kg, but the man who collected the car only partially admits guilt. – He thought there was hashish in the trunk, and we will provide evidence to substantiate what the defendant thought about the delivery. There was a communication check shortly before, says defense attorney Alexander Rydberg Greaker from the law firm Greaker X Storrvik. 47-YEAR-OLD DEFENDER: Alexander Rydberg Greaker photographed in connection with another criminal case. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB He is defending the 47-year-old who is described in the indictment as an accomplice. A 44-year-old is described as a main man. The person’s lawyer, Marius Ihlebæk, does not want to say anything about how the client reacts to the charges. The police have found 102.7 kg of amphetamine in this case, but the indictment covers a total of 164.8 kg. – The charge in the indictment is that what has not been seized has been sold on the market, says Fari. 21 people charged In addition to the two charged in the case which starts on Tuesday, at least three others are linked to the network, according to the prosecutor. A Lithuanian was sentenced last autumn, while another Lithuanian has been charged. A fifth person is internationally wanted via Interpol. Kripos announced last year that they had charged 21 people as a result of the EncroChat interception. There has been a question as to whether the material from the French police could be used in Norwegian law, but this was recently established. The Supreme Court ruled in July that the data obtained by the French authorities can be used as evidence in Norwegian criminal cases.
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