Now the police will take more thorough action to find out more about the illegal traffic across the border. On 1 July, a temporary police station is in place at Magnormoen in Eidskog. This is pending a new permanent police station on the border that will house both police and customs from Norway and Sweden. The goal is better intelligence, more effective investigation and better preventive work. Suspicious marking During the corona pandemic, when the borders were closed, new ways and paths people used to get across the border were revealed. Now it may look like it has become even more organized. In a wood near the border in Kongsvinger, the police recently found an area marked with blue plastic tape. In some places the markings are yellow and some trees are marked with numbers. The police do not know who marked the area, but have followed the marking to Sweden. PLASTIC TAPE: Police believe someone has marked trails for illegal border crossing. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news The marking follows some paths and animal tracks, but also goes over marshes which are usually not such a natural choice for a hiker. – We have information that indicates that there are illegal border crossings on foot here. It seems that the site is marked by a system. It is legal to cross the border on foot when the borders are not closed, but the police believe that the forest areas are used for smuggling. – This is one of the things we want to take a closer look at, says Bjørn Ellingsen, who is employed as police station chief at Magnormoen police station. These days, he is working to hire the rest of the crew who will have the border as a workplace from 1 July. POLICE STATION MANAGER: Bjørn Ellingsen is in the process of recruiting employees for the new police station at Magnormoen. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news Unique collaboration The permanent police station will be ready on the neighboring plot on the border between Eidskog in the Inland and Eda in Värmland in 2024. In other words, both police and customs from both countries will work together. – It is a unique collaboration that I do not know exists elsewhere. This means that we can act and operate quickly based on information we have obtained and analyzed, says police station chief Bjørn Ellingsen. Work has been going on for a joint police station at the border since 2017. In August last year, the then Minister of Justice Monica Mæland (H) gave the final go-ahead. 38 border crossings The employees at the police station must have the entire Swedish border in the Inland as a workplace. There are a total of 38 border crossings in this area. The customs service is also looking forward to closer cooperation across the border. – I believe that we will be able to catch even more border criminals, says Morten Nystuen who is section chief at the Customs in Kongsvinger. Morten Nystuen, section chief at the Customs Service in Kongsvinger. Photo: Ann-Kristin Mo / news He thinks it will be more difficult to cross the border illegally when the agencies on both sides of the border cooperate more closely. – I also assume that the police will invest more resources in investigating customs cases, which we want, says Nystuen. Different rules The new building will not be ready until two years from now. All the formalities are not entirely clear either. Among other things, the Norwegian and Swedish police have different rules for armament. – This is a unique collaboration that no one has done before. It takes time before everything is in place, but we believe that this will make us better equipped to fight border crime in the future, says police station chief Ellingsen.
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The police will find out more about the illegal traffic across the border – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
