It was in October 2023 that the police and the Customs Agency discovered the importation of 400 kg of hashish in Østfold. The investigation into the import led to the seizure of NOK 3 million in cash, in addition to weapons and other valuables. Among other things, the police and customs found NOK 1.4 million hidden in nappy packs on their way out of Norway. Five people of Lithuanian origin have been charged in the case. Three are in custody. In this secret room the Customs made the seizure. Photo: The Customs Service Two of them, however, have recently been given the status of offenders in another criminal case. – Two of the people charged in this case are the two people who have been kidnapped and who have been shot. I have nothing to do with the motive behind the acts of violence, Sør-Öst is investigating, police attorney Sigrid Fagerli told news. Police attorney Sigrid Fagerli. Photo: Odd Skjerdal / news Linked to shooting in Drammen Police attorney Ann Iren Svane Mathiassen in the South-Eastern police district confirms that the two are exposed to attempted murder and kidnapping respectively in Drammen at the beginning of November. – The attempted murder took place on Friday 1 November. The police became aware of the deprivation of liberty on 2 November, but it probably started earlier, Mathiassen tells news. According to Mathiassen, one of the men is still hospitalized after the incident. She does not want to elaborate on how many people have been arrested in the case, but says they have both Swedish, Norwegian and Eastern European origins. Police attorney Ann Iren Svane Mathiassen. Photo: Caroline Utti / news Nor does Mathiassen want to comment on a possible motive for the attempted murder and kidnapping. Lawyer Jonas Same is the lawyer for one of the men. – He denies criminal guilt, and says he has nothing to do with the drug case. He has no connection to what happened, and says he did not participate. His client also has the status of offended party in the case from Drammen. Saeme tells news that he does not want to comment on that matter at the present time. news has not been able to get hold of the defenders of the two other men who were offended in Drammen and charged in Østfold. – Record seizure Section chief Rune Orderud at Ørje toll station says the money seizure is among the largest ever made at the toll station. The hash seizure is the largest of its kind. – That says something about the size of the actor. There are enormous amounts of drugs and large sums of money going back and forth across the border, says Orderud to news. It was in this truck that the customs agency made the drug discovery, autumn 2023 Photo: The customs agency Refers to threat assessment Police attorney Fagerli does not want to say whether the five accused in the drug case are part of a criminal network. – I refer to Kripos’s threat assessment, where Lithuanian persons are mentioned, but cannot give more specific details about the persons this case concerns, says Fagerli about the five charged in Østfold. In a threat assessment from Kripos from last year, criminal networks from Lithuania are singled out as particularly transporters of drugs to Norway. In the report, Kripos writes that the threat from such networks will “very likely be significant” in the years to come. According to the report, Lithuanian networks are known for organizing and transporting large quantities of drugs to Norway. “Lithuanian criminal networks offer important transport and logistics services for other criminal networks in Europe and the Nordics,” the report states. Published 14.11.2024, at 15.51 Updated 14.11.2024, at 16.25
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