They basically remember little, the defendants in the big drug trial that is going on in Nord-Trom district court these days. But when the prosecutor shows selfies, messages and GPS tracking on the screen in front of the witness box, the stories come. About a group of men with a boyish attitude who have become entangled in a small circus. Which now means that they stand accused in one of Northern Norway’s biggest drug cases. Six men as part of a larger organized network are said to have introduced, stored and handed over 339 kilograms of hashish and 12 kilograms of marijuana. – We were full of testosterone. It is not everyday for any of us to cross the border to get drugs. It was a bit of a tough, exhilarating atmosphere. A little cockfight. This is what one of the defendants, a man in his 40s, told the court on Thursday. – I wanted to help my brother. He needed help. And he needed someone he knew and trusted. Here is the man in his 40s with one of the others who were on the trip. Photo: One of the defendants “The boss” was drugged in Spain The brother is a Tromsø man in his 50s who is believed to be a “head man” in the drug league. He had moved to Spain to get away from the drug scene, but it had the opposite effect. He was drunk on alcohol and cocaine during the pandemic and needed quick money. When he got to know “people who know people” at the “lawless” club he was a member of down there, he organized a number of childhood friends and family members into a network. An “ingenious” smuggling route on foot was initially a success. But then the buyers started complaining about “lousy” hashish. It only led to greater financial problems and higher pressure to deliver. – I got the impression that we received old residual waste that has been in storage for a long time, which they (in Spain) have not received a return on, the defendant commented on Tuesday. And then the brother came into the picture. As news wrote on Wednesday, three men carried 228 kilograms of hashish in backpacks over the mountain between Sweden and Norway. The brother now tells more details about the three arduous trips in October 2020 with bad atmosphere, bad weather and tired bodies. The work ethic kicked in. They had rented an apartment in Sweden, and were waiting for a delivery. In the meantime, they cruised the area, found a boat berth and went fishing. Then one evening a van backed up in front of the door, and out came two men. First there was a bag. Then one more. And then one more. And then they were told to help carry. It began to dawn on them that this was a much larger scale than they thought. – I thought at first that the hash was well hidden in the bags. But then we piled the hash into a bunk bed. The first bed will be full. Then the next one. They close the doors, draw the curtains and start counting. Repeatedly. They found that there were around 230 kilos of hashish. – We were full of adrenaline, nerves and shock. And then the old work ethic kicked in. It was just a matter of getting it packed and arranged in bundles, and out of the apartment when darkness came. This boat was full of packets of hashish. Plus a driver. The picture was taken on another occasion. Photo: the police Dramatic boat trip with 160 kg of hashish They parked along the road, lifted 160 kilograms of hashish over the guard rail and into the boat. They noticed that it was getting heavy for the inflatable “tub”. Lake Torneträsk in northern Sweden was stormy with white waves. First, one of the defendants tried to drive the boat. It did not work. Then the man in his 40s. He wound his way around a headland and into the depths of the lake. He just arrived before the boat punctured. – It was against the current and big waves. That boat trip was an experience of a lifetime. I sat the whole time wondering if this was going to go well, says the man in court. – I don’t think too highly of myself, but I thought about the values and the goods. And my brother was responsible if things went wrong. They had planned to take in a small tourist cabin to get warm, but it was occupied. So they carried the hash up to the border, packed it under a tarpaulin and put moss over it. Then they made the four-hour trip back to the apartment. This is the area the “gutta på tur” have wandered to introduce hashish and Marijuana to Norway. Race with bowed heads The next day, when darkness had come, they filled three bags with 60 kilos of hashish and walked the three miles to Bardu in Norway. But it was a stressful atmosphere. One of the men was going home for his girlfriend’s birthday. That’s why they didn’t take time to enjoy the trip, light a fire and grill sausages. – It was a race walking marathon over the mountain. It was a surreal experience to be a part of. We walked with heavy rucksacks while bending down so as not to be seen by the customs officers, explained the man in his 40s. On the other side of the mountain, the men were met by a familiar face. – I was not prepared for my 70-year-old uncle to come and collect 60 kilos of hashish. I was surprised, because I didn’t know he was part of this. When the police carried out investigations around the Lappjordhytta two years later, they found this garbage bag, which the defendants have acknowledged that the drugs were hidden under. Photo: the police The men were tired, hungry and tired. But just a few days later, the three had to set off again. Because there was still probably 160 kilos of hash out there. – I felt like a donkey, said one of the other defendants in court on Wednesday. – We were the donkeys. We were the ones who were told to get back on the mountain, also described the 48-year-old on Thursday. He had bought himself a GPS to find his way back to the landfill. The police later extracted data from this GPS, which contributed to the league being exposed. Wet and cold, they arrived at the Lappjordhytta, which is owned by the Norwegian Tourist Association. After a few hours they started to move the hash. And so they took with them what they could carry, and went back over the mountain again. GPS data has later helped to give the police a good picture of how they have operated. Photo: the police Had to turn the underpants around and leave again – We received complaints that the hash was water-damaged and destroyed. It was hard to be accused of being to blame for it when we had packed, arranged and carried this, says the defendant. Due to the “hash drought” in the south, bad economy because the hash they had collected was not sold and that winter had crept in, the tour group was contacted again. Only a few days after the last trip again. – We were told to turn our underpants around and get back on the mountain. We tried to say that we needed more time, but it was difficult to get through to someone who is sitting in a bottle with cocaine under their nose, says the defendant. They were now so tired, angry with each other and bored that they could hardly bear to look at each other. They couldn’t bear to walk again, so they rented an ATV to get to the landfill. Drug gang from the same district The criminal network consists, among other things, of a group of childhood friends and family from the same district in Tromsø. 13 people have been charged in connection with the professional drug network. One of these has already been sentenced, one has been central but is now dead, two have had their case dropped and a couple have not had their case tried yet. The trial, which is now underway, will last two weeks. The defendants risk imprisonment of between 3 and 15 years.
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– Raced across the mountain with a bent back – news Troms and Finnmark
