Six people have been charged in what is referred to as one of the biggest drug cases in Norwegian history. Using the encrypted communication platform SKY ECC, the network is said to have engaged in the organized importation, purchase, transport and storage of large quantities of various narcotic substances. The value of the substance is said to be many hundreds of millions of kroner, and much of it is said to have been smuggled into the country through small forest roads from Sweden. What the perpetrators did not know was that Kripos and the police had access to their conversations. In the spring of 2022, they campaigned against the network in several places in the country. Now several of the masterminds risk up to the law’s strictest penalty, 21 years, if they are convicted. They are charged under the mafia section. GET SEIZED: The police use the network’s own photos as evidence that they have introduced and sold drugs. Photo: the police – It is a case that involves many people involved and large quantities of narcotic drugs. I would assume that it is one of the biggest drug cases we have had in Norway, says state attorney Marit Formo to news. The prosecution links the network to large quantities of heavy narcotics, but in total only five kilos of cocaine and a few hundred kilos of hashish have been seized. State Attorney Marit Formo Photo: Tom Balgaard/news The indictment is currently based on analyzes of images, messages and the communication the network had with each other on the encrypted platform. The investigation is part of “Operation Hubris” which Kripos started in 2018. Different roles In the summer of 2021, the police in the interior and Kripos started the investigation of the network. In a coordinated action, they made a number of arrests. Kripos believes that the network they have revealed is a receiving device for criminals in Morocco. These masterminds must have a connection to Norway. The police have reviewed thousands of reports, in which those involved must have described exactly when the drug smuggling is supposed to have taken place, what kind of drug was introduced and how. One of the men charged is said to have been responsible for the purchase and importation of large quantities of drugs. In the period between May 2020 and February 2021, he is said to have introduced drugs on 27 different occasions. On seven occasions, according to the indictment from the public prosecutor in Oslo, he must also have been responsible for purchases. Kripos links the man, who is in his 40s, to the purchase and importation of: 30 kilos of heroin 330.5 kilos of amphetamine 78.4 kilos of cocaine 743.5 kilos of cannabis 1 kilo of ketamine 1 kilo of methamphetamine Another man in his 40s is also accused in the case. According to the indictment, he allegedly received and stored 90 kilograms of amphetamine, 11 kilograms of cocaine and 411.6 kilograms of cannabis. This must have happened between April 2020 and March 2022. He must also have sold and organized the sale of the amphetamine and over 250 kilograms of cannabis. Kripos also links a man in his 30s to the network. Between 2020 and 2022, he is said to have organized the importation, purchase, transport and storage of, among other things: 30 kilos of heroin 234.5 kilos of amphetamine 75.4 kilos of cocaine Smuggled with a quad bike On at least 20 occasions, a man living in Sweden is said to have transported drugs across the border to Norway at Eidskog. According to the indictment, the smuggling took place either by car, truck or ATV. On the encrypted messages, the police have found images of a four-wheeler that is supposed to be loaded with drugs. ATV: The photo shows an ATV, which the police believe was used to transport drugs from Sweden and on border roads into the interior. Photo: The police According to the indictment, much of this substance was handed over to a woman in her 20s. The woman is said to have transported the substance on to Oslo. A man in his 40s from the Oslo area is said to have been responsible for the resale of the drug. According to the indictment, he must have sold at least 2,700 kilograms of cannabis and 63 kilograms of cocaine. The prosecution believes it can prove that he sold drugs at least 121 times over the course of two years. PICTURED: According to the indictment, the network has smuggled in and sold large quantities of cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and cannabis. Only a small amount of has been seized. Photo: the police Responding to the evidence Lawyer Marius Dietrichson defends one of the men in his 30s who the prosecution is responsible for importing large quantities of drugs. He tells news that his client denies criminal guilt in the case. The defense counsel reacts to the manner in which the prosecution’s main evidence has been obtained and used in the case. He says they will investigate whether there are grounds for taking the messages as evidence. – Telephone users all over the world, all unknown to the police, were then tapped. Without there being any suspicion whatsoever against the individual telephone user. We are reacting to this procedure, which is reminiscent of illegal mass surveillance, he says to news. Defender Marius Dietrichson. Photo: Gunnar Bratthammer / news He further says that the defense in the case has not been given access to the chain of evidence in the case, and claims that they have only been presented with an Excel sheet that shows what should have been introduced and sold when. – Our approach to this is that this evidence cannot justify a conviction. It could go against basic principles of the rule of law, and furthermore, it is the case that the prosecution must in any case have other evidence than just these reports. In reality, we don’t think there is any other evidence than the messages, and we will contest the accusation, he says to news. Defender Øyvind Bratlien. Photo: Tom Balgaard/news Nor has the client of defender Øyvind Bratlien wanted to explain himself to the police. Bratlien says that the indictment is extensive and over a short period of time. Like lawyer Dietrichson, he believes that the evidence presented in the case is problematic. – They open up a completely new reality where you can plant, manipulate and edit the evidence. So many questions arise: Have we got everything? Has something been lost along the way? There is no physical evidence, only XL sheets, he says to news. The lawyer says that it may be appropriate to file a motion that the evidence be withheld from the court. – We do not recognize them, he says to news. Defender Ole Petter Drevland. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB Defense attorney Ole Petter Drevland also believes that the evidence in the case could be problematic. – It is mainly the encrypted messages that are the evidence for the prosecution, he says to news. His client has not wanted to explain himself to the police, and has not taken a position on the question of guilt. Defender Vidar Lind Iversen does not want to comment on the case. Lawyer Morten Furholmen defends the accused woman in the case. He tells news that she partially pleads guilty. news has not succeeded in obtaining a comment from lawyer Øivind Sterri, who defends the last defendant. LARGE QUANTITIES: Kripos links the network to large quantities of drugs that were smuggled into the country and sold on. Photo: Police State Attorney Formo says she is confident that the evidence they rely on will be able to be used in court. – There have been a number of processes before Norwegian courts regarding evidence interception of this material, and both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court have said that this material can be used as evidence in Norwegian criminal cases. – So you are sure about that? – Yes, we are, she says to news. Hubris The investigation of the network joins several of the so-called “Operation Hubris” cases. The goal of Kripos has been to stop networks that have supplied criminal gangs in Oslo and the eastern region with drugs. PULVER: Images like this were accessed by the police after the encrypted messaging service was hacked by the French authorities. Photo: The police The investigation has been aimed at several environments at home and abroad. Among other things, Kripos, in collaboration with police in several places in Europe, has uncovered a Dutch network that smuggled drugs from Spain in the south to Norway in the north. A Danish network has also been exposed and stopped. Since the start of the “Hubris” investigations, drugs with a street value of over half a billion kroner have been seized, according to Kripos. People who have been caught and convicted of Hubris cases have been sentenced to a total of 257 years in prison. 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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Revealed by own photos – six people indicted in extensive drug case – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
