The record seizure was made last week. Following a tip-off from the German police, the Customs Agency and the police went to a Bama warehouse in Oslo. There they found close to 800 kilograms of cocaine hidden in banana boxes. The police now confirm to news that something else was also found – a tracking tag was found in one of the boxes. – It is included as part of the technical investigation and it is now being investigated, says Arvid Utby, section leader for organized crime in the Oslo police district to news. Can provide answers The tracking tag is an AirTag from Apple. The police do not know who put it in the banana boxes with cocaine. Arvid Utby, head of the intelligence section for organized crime in the Oslo police. Photo: The police – We do not know at what time it was placed there or who has control over it, he says. The police are still without suspects in the case, and hope the chip can provide important answers. – It can be everything or nothing. It can give us good information about the transport route, about intermediate storage in Europe and the country of origin. That is what the investigation aims to answer, says Utby to news. One theory the police are working on is that the entire batch of cocaine was sent to Norway from Germany by mistake. The cocaine seizure in Oslo is the largest in Norwegian history. Photo: POLITIET A few days before the record seizure in Oslo, a similar cocaine seizure was made in Germany. Utby cannot comment on whether AirTags were found here as well. – Hope they haven’t used their own user account In recent years, tracking tags have become both very easily available and popular. Apple’s AirTags work through ultra-broadband technology. The chip emits signals that are picked up by nearby mobile phones. These devices that are connected to the network send information about the chip’s position to the cloud – and on to the chip’s owner. Apple AirTags are connected to the owner through the user account (Apple ID). – As for the criminals, I hope they have not used their own user account, says Torgeir Waterhouse. He is an IT expert and partner in the consulting company Otte AS. Waterhouse does not rule out that the tracking tool could become an important piece in the police’s work. – For society’s part, it is of course an advantage if they have hidden their tracks badly. – It is definitely possible to get information from the chip. The question is whether it is useful, says IT expert Torgeir Waterhouse. Photo: Hans Kristian Thorbjoernsen Nevertheless, it is not certain that the police will gain access to the information the chip can provide. – Apple likes to know who is the owner through the serial number. The amount of information they release varies from country to country. Then the question is whether they have information about the real owners, he says. International cooperation The nearly 800 kilograms that were seized have been sent to Kripos for weighing and analysis. According to Utby, the drugs were wrapped and marked in different ways. They are now working closely with Europol and the German police to find out who is behind it. – A lot of investigation is being done. We are carrying out technical investigations and there is still a lot of questioning. We are sharing details from our investigation with Europol. So does Germany. It is put together to look for common features in the cases, he says. SEIZURE IN GERMANY: On Tuesday, German police made a record seizure of 1,200 kilos of cocaine in these banana crates. It also led to seizures in Oslo. Photo: German police Tip news’s crime group: Do you have information about this case or other crime cases? Contact news’s crime group. You can tip us off by e-mail or through news’s encrypted notification service. Here you can tip us anonymously. We also treat all tips confidentially, in line with the Vær varsom poster’s rules on source protection.
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Hope this small detail can reveal the masterminds – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
