Record-breaking seizures of drugs in 2023 mean that many may think that Norway’s borders are well secured. As customs officials, we would like to say that was the case, but that is not true. The reality is that our presence at the borders is getting worse and worse. At the same time, the importation of drugs, weapons and cross-border organized crime is increasing. The Norwegian Customs Board is very proud of the work we put in last year. In 2023, we made the four largest seizures of cocaine in Norwegian history. As customs officers, we are on the front line to stop drugs and gangs trying to gain a foothold in Norway, but what we are seeing now worries us deeply. We are constantly discovering new and extremely strong substances, and we are seeing increased imports of well-known substances such as cocaine. In addition, cross-border organized crime is growing rapidly in scope. We would like to say that we have control over the development, but we don’t. The reality is that our presence at the borders has become progressively worse over many years. Norway as a transit country The police constantly express concern that Norway could become a possible transit country for drugs. I wonder if we already are. Branches from criminal networks abroad, with ties to cartels in South America, are a fact. The development is taking place, among other things, because the real risk of detection at the borders is vanishingly small. Organized gangs, with affiliations in and outside Norway, smuggle in the drugs. For the gangs, this is one of their major sources of income. Increased supply of drugs therefore contributes to increasing the extent of other crime in Norway. Although we managed to seize record quantities of cocaine last year, this is unfortunately only the tip of the iceberg. We could prevent far greater amounts of drugs, weapons and other illegal activity at the borders. It is not uncommon for us to receive various types of intelligence that indicate that we should stop a specific vehicle at the border. It is very likely that this vehicle is carrying illegal goods, such as weapons or drugs. Still, we can’t do anything but let it cross the line. The reason is that we do not have enough resources. We are too few on guard. The customs office has a very clear order of priority at the borders. At the top of the list is securing the registered shipment. These are often the goods that come with trailers, or those that drive in the red zone across the border. Control and intelligence activities must give way when resources are insufficient. My contention is that gangs and organized criminals are very aware of this. And Norway is attractive because of this. Ever fewer customs officers Historically, the Customs Service is responsible for over 50 percent of all drug seizures in Norway. When a lack of resources means that we have to deprioritise control activities, it means that we will discover less and less of the illegal activity that takes place at the borders. At the start of 2024, there were around 600 operative customs officials who will control vehicles, goods and people distributed at 46 airports, over 623 ISPS ports and 78 border crossings en route. It goes without saying that the detection risk for organized criminals is not particularly great at the borders. A needle in a haystack It is a fact that if large consignments of drugs cross the borders, they are quickly split into smaller consignments and spread across the country. Batches of several kilograms become many thousands of small bags of only a couple of grams each. These are then sold by dealers all over the country, usually organized through criminal networks. In other words: If a large batch of drugs has first crossed the borders, it will be almost impossible to do anything about it. Then the police will be left powerless in the attempt to deal with the consequences of this. The picture we paint of the situation on the borders with Norway is gloomy, but unfortunately quite real. The downsizing of the customs service has taken place over a long period of time. No single government should be blamed for the situation we are now in. Nevertheless, it is the current politicians who have the responsibility and the opportunity to turn the situation around, to ensure security and presence on our borders.
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Open borders for criminals – Speech
