Five men from Eastern Europe have been sentenced in the Vestre Innlandet district court in an extensive drug case linked to a home in Østre Toten. The main defendant has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for having produced, stored and/or sold a total of nearly 300 kilograms of amphetamine in 2020 and 2021. The other four have been sentenced to 14, 11, 7.5 and 4 years in prison respectively. The court convicted three of them for having been part of an organized criminal group. BASEMENT: In this basement room of the house in Østre Toten, the police found large quantities of amphetamine products and raw materials for such production. Photo: The police news has tried to get a comment from the defender, but has so far been unsuccessful. The drug production took place in a home in Østre Toten where one of the convicts lived. The case is part of the international drug operation Trojan Shield, which was coordinated by the US FBI. A total of 800 people in 16 countries were arrested within 48 hours, and according to Kripos, nine of these were arrested in Norway. Prosecutor: considering appeal The prosecutor submitted a request for 21 years’ imprisonment for the main defendant. – We take note of the judgment. We note that the district court has sentenced one of the defendants to the law’s strictest punishment in line with our claim. Otherwise, we will use the appeal period of two weeks to assess whether other parts of the judgment should be appealed, prosecutor Johan Petter Bærland writes in an SMS to news. He says they must consider the points where they have not been fully supported. The trial against the five Eastern Europeans began in Vestre Innlandet District Court on 2 May. A full six weeks were set aside in court to deal with the extensive case. The men were prosecuted under the so-called mafia section. PROSECUTOR: State prosecutor Johan Petter Bærland was the prosecutor in the major drug case that took place in the Vestre Innlandet district court. Photo: Frode Meskau / news Previously, a man was sentenced to 14 years in prison in the Oslo district court in connection with the same investigation. When the criminal case started in Lillehammer, four of the men denied any form of criminal guilt. One of the defendants pleaded partially guilty. Seized wagon train – but not confiscated Several equipment has been confiscated from the convicted. The seizure consisted of, among other things, a train consisting of a Man tractor and a Volkswagen Golf trailer, a Toyota passenger car, a garage, NOK 100,000 in cash and several mobile phones. The wagon train is not confiscated, even though it is stated in the judgment from the district court that it is clear that the wagon train was used for criminal offences. The value of the garage is also exempt from confiscation. A LOT OF POLICE: In connection with the trial, there were many officers from the police in and around the court in Lillehammer. Photo: Alexander Nordby / news The police hacked the communication In 2019 and 2020, French, Dutch and Belgian police managed to hack into two encrypted communication platforms called Encrochat and Sky ssc. In addition, the American FBI was able to monitor the communication platform Anom. Several criminal groups are said to have used these platforms to send messages to each other. Over 1,000 people worldwide are said to have been arrested as a result of this investigative work. ARREST: Over 800 people have been arrested as a result of the police operation “Trojan Shield”. Here from an arrest in Australia. Photo: Australian Federal Police / Reuters Norwegian police also gained access via their colleagues abroad to messages sent via these platforms. This allowed them to see what was communicated between criminals in Norway. This has led to several arrests. The police also tracked down two residential buildings in Østre Toten. In the basement of one house, what has been described as an amphetamine laboratory was discovered. Also in an outbuilding attached to the other home, it is believed that extensive production of amphetamines took place. Investigation completed in 2021 The investigation into the case was completed in autumn 2021. But it took time to bring it up to court. The reason is that there has been disagreement about what evidence can be presented. The Supreme Court therefore assessed whether investigative material obtained through the digital service Encrochat could be used as evidence in a Norwegian criminal case. – There have been two rounds of adjournments due to the fact that the defenders demanded parts of the evidence be cut off. It has now been clarified. The Supreme Court’s appeals committee decided in January that this evidence can be used in our case, said state attorney Johan Petter Bærland in May.
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Amphetamine laboratory at Toten – five Lithuanians convicted in the Vestre Innlandet district court – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
