– The immediate feeling was that I was relieved. I grinned a little and thought about how finished I was right now. It felt like it was all over. It was kind of good to be caught, when it had become so big. This is how the accused 18-year-old explains himself in court, when he talks about the arrest on 15 May 2022. Together with his 16-year-old friend, they are said to have received 37.66 kilograms of hashish from a criminal circle in Malmö in Sweden. The hash is said to have been transported by two men of Syrian origin, and handed over to the teenagers in a suitcase in a car park in Tromsø. The young people took a taxi to and from the car park. A hiker observed this and tipped off the police. The tipster is said to have described that the young people were dressed in “hip-hop clothes”. It didn’t fit into the area. The handover must have taken place at approximately eleven o’clock, Sunday morning. A few minutes later they were stopped by a police patrol. According to the defendants, they had taken large amounts of ketamine, cocaine and alcohol in the hours before this. The 18-year-old says in his explanation that he felt pressured to accept the lot, and tried to say that he could not accept it. – I was extremely stressed and nervous by the whole arrangement. Suddenly it had become so big. I had taken water over my head, he says. But in the end he saw no other way out but to say yes. According to himself, he took the accused 16-year-old with him at the last minute, to feel a little safer. Here we see parts of the fitting of 37.66 kilos. If you assume that a gram of hashish costs NOK 100, it has a street value of NOK 3.7 million. Photo: The police Allegation of five and a half years’ imprisonment The prosecutor in the case, state attorney Jørn Henning Bremnes, submitted an allegation of five years and six months’ imprisonment for the 18-year-old. – This is storage that is profit-motivated, with a significant risk of spreading. Through pictures and messages on his phone, we see that he is active in networking, says Bremnes. The public prosecutor believes that the 16-year-old only played a contributing role in the receipt and storage of the hashish. His young age was also taken into account. Thus, the prosecutor submitted a request for a youth sentence with an implementation period of two years. In addition to the 37 kilos of hashish, drugs were also found at the teenagers’ home. These seizures were also the basis for the prosecutor’s request for punishment. At the home of the 18-year-old, 6.77 kg of hashish, 643.1 grams of amphetamine and 89.14 grams of cocaine were found, while 30 grams of hashish were found at the 16-year-old’s. The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to both seizures and made an unreserved confession. The trial was held behind closed doors. The police were present with several officers in the courtroom, and guards outside the doors. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news The 16-year-old pleaded guilty to the hashish that was found on him, but not to the suitcase with 37 kilos. His defender, Bjørn Arild Langenes, believes that the evidence that his client should have contributed to receiving and keeping parity is thin. – The prosecutor brings in a number of innocent things on top of each other that are not evidence. The fact that he sat in the car or helped his friend lift a suitcase, what does that prove? He submitted a claim that his client be acquitted, or imposed a community penalty if he is found guilty. The 16-year-old’s defender, Bjørn Arild Langenes, submitted a claim that his client be acquitted. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news Hotel parties, gold watches and branded clothes When the accused explained themselves in court, both said that they had already started using illegal drugs in secondary school. In the drug environment they found unity and meaning. It started with a joint now and then, before it gradually escalated. In the spring of 2022, the defendants say there was extensive use of hashish, cocaine, amphetamines, ketamine, MDMA and alcohol. Some substances more often than others, and in larger quantities. In the courtroom, the prosecution presented a lot of documentation. A part of it may remind a bit of an episode of “Exit”, or a music video from rap music. The documentation was taken from two confiscated phones, which belong to the 18-year-old. Here are messages on various encrypted services. These may indicate the purchase, use and sale of drugs. There are pictures of hotel parties, gold watches, branded clothes and relatively large amounts of cash. There are also notes, which may look like an account of the sale of drugs. Both teenagers talk openly about repeated use of illegal drugs and that they have been part of a criminal environment. They also tell of several minor episodes with the long arm of the law, and a culture of not talking to the police. When the prosecutor asks the 18-year-old if he deals in drugs, he initially refuses, but later admits that he sold some in 2020 to finance his own use. The prosecutor then continued to ask about the drugs in the suitcase and at his residence. – What would you get out of the lot of 37 kilos? – I don’t want to answer that. – You also had a lot of drugs at home. What would you do with it? – Should have passed it on. – To whom? – I dare not say that. The defense attorney wants a split sentence The defense attorney for the 18-year-old does not disagree with the question of guilt, but believes that an unconditional sentence is not appropriate. – If you follow the prosecutor, then you say that there is no hope for the boy, said Fredrik Schøne Brodwall and addressed the judges in the district court. The defense attorney believes that his client should rather receive a split sentence, where parts of it will be a ND sentence. That is to say, he will serve part of the sentence outside prison in a substance abuse program, with close follow-up. On the other hand, the prosecution believes that the 18-year-old does not qualify for such a sentence, and highlights the lack of documentation that he is addicted to drugs. – An ND sentence is not something you can talk yourself into in order to get a lighter sentence, says the state attorney. The prosecutor in the case, state attorney Jørn Henning Bremnes, believes that unconditional imprisonment is the right punishment for the 18-year-old. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news Brodwall, on the other hand, believes that an ND sentence will give a better chance of rehabilitation, while at the same time his client will be followed up more closely after any sentencing. – There is no doubt that my client has led a criminal life. He has done that since he was a child, and we must not forget that: He committed most of the criminal offenses as a child, he says. He further says that his client is trying to get his life on track, and has started drug treatment in the prison where he has been in custody since May. The fact that neither external contact, teachers or other bodies have stated that his client has a drug problem, Brodwall believes, is part of the problem. – Imagine if he had told the GP that he had used hashish, we would have had good enough documentation – is that where the list should be? He himself describes that he does not trust adult authorities, he says. – The fact that no one has realized that he has been in a criminal environment means that no one has followed him, looked after him and dealt with the problem in a proper way. Fredrik Schøne Brodwall, defender of the 18-year-old, believes that an unconditional prison sentence is not the way to go for good rehabilitation. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news
ttn-69
Supposed to have received 37 kilos of hashish – news Troms and Finnmark
