Early on Wednesday morning, Kripos and a number of police districts went into action. Oslo, Trøndelag and East police districts have arrested and charged a total of nine people. Kripos has charged six people. – These are people who we believe have central positions in criminal networks that import large quantities of drugs into Norway, says police prosecutor in Kripos, Nora Pedersen, in a press release. A total of 15 people have been arrested and charged. All have been charged with a serious drug offence, and have been remanded in custody or will be produced for imprisonment within a short time. Seizure of weapons after a major operation against the criminal environment. Photo: The police Large amounts of communication The action originates in chat material from the encrypted service SKyECC. According to Pedersen, those who use SKyECC are key behind the scenes against whom it has previously been difficult to obtain evidence. – In Norway, we have received data on approximately 1,250 SKyECC users who are linked to crimes committed in Norway. We are talking about a total of approximately ten million messages, she says. Belag after a police operation in which 15 people have been arrested and charged. Photo: The police The background for the actions is good international police cooperation, Kripos writes in the press release. In this collaboration, Norwegian police have gained access to large amounts of communication between criminals. In the last five to ten years, the police have seen that criminals have made extensive use of encrypted communication services. – The actions are the result of a targeted investment over time by the Norwegian police against the masterminds of Norwegian criminal networks, says Kripos chief Kristin Kvigne. Skyecc’s website has been taken down. Here from 2021. – A big and serious case A man in his 30s living in Trondheim was arrested and charged on Wednesday. The man has not yet wanted to give a statement to the police, writes Trøndelag police district in a press release. He has been charged with a serious drug offence, and has not been remanded in custody. – This is a big and serious case, in which we are continuing the investigation. But at the present time, we do not see that there is a risk of tampering with evidence or other reasons to present the person for detention, says public prosecutor John R. Sødahl Furunes. East police district has arrested four people. – We cannot rule out more arrests, says police inspector Lars Reinholdt-Østbye to news. What appear to be paintings have been seized by the police. Does not plead guilty One of the accused’s defenders, Waqar Malik, tells news that his client does not plead guilty. Linn Elise Rognes is defending one of the other accused, who also pleads not guilty. The client of defender Vidar Lind Iversen also does not plead guilty. He is detained for four weeks. Øyvind Bratlien is defending one of the accused, who also pleads not guilty. Crime threat The police’s threat assessment (PTV) was presented on Tuesday this week. In it, the police point out that Norwegian criminal networks cooperate closely with criminal networks abroad. – Put to the fore, it is our welfare state that is at stake if the criminal networks are given free rein, says Kripos chief Kvigne. Kripos chief Kristin Kvigne. Photo: Hanna Johre / NTB Another crime threat highlighted in PTV is that criminals sell services to other criminals. Kripos also sees such buying and selling of criminal services in the investigations that led to arrests on Thursday. – In the investigation, we see that criminal specialists such as torpedoes, money changers and transporters sell their services. It shows that the criminal networks are becoming more professional and more unclear. It is a development we follow closely, says Kvigne.
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Major police operation in organized crime – 15 charged with serious drug offences
