The police have uncovered major drug case linked to gangs
The Crime Unit (Kripos) and several police districts have uncovered a very large drug route to Norway. The illegal business is linked to gangs in Oslo.
Kripos has seized between 600 and 700 kilos of hash in Eastern Norway during the past two weeks. Nine people are currently arrested.
– This case is related to gang problems and districts around Oslo. Drugs are smuggled from abroad via a significant route. Comparatively major seizures have been made considering the time frame. There have been deliveries made regularly over a long period of time. It therefore adds up to large quantities, says Head of Kripos, Ketil Haukaas during a press conference on Friday.
The police do not rule out more seizures being made and say there is no doubt that they are facing a very large drug case. Kripos writes in a press release that it is likely that huge quantities of drugs have been smuggled into Norway.
– We know that there have been considerable seizures in Denmark recently, but we will not delve any further into that at present, says Haukaas.
Nine apprehended
So far in the operation dubbed Hubris, Nine persons are arrested charged with gross drug violations. Two of those are Danish citizens who are known to the police in Denmark from earlier encounters with the law.
Three indicted persons were detained last week. The two Danes were detained by the Oslo District Court on Thursday. One is detained for four weeks with letter and visit ban and two weeks in total isolation, the other for four weeks with letter and visit ban. The remaining arrestees are appearing before the Oslo District court on Friday.
– We have concentrated on the receiving apparatus in Norway and followed up on all tracks abroad – Especially regarding Denmark and Sweden. Oslo, the Inland and Eastern police districts have collaborated on this, says police inspector in Kripos, Eivind Borge, at the press conference.
Haukaas says that the imports probably have been going on for a long time.
– It is important to stop those who make money from this in Norway, and we will also follow up on the tracks leading out of the country. Kripos prioritizes using our resources on those we think have the greatest potential of being harmful, which often involves multicultural environments, he says.
Linked to gang activites
In addition to the three police districts, Kripos collaborates with both the Danish and Swedish police on the case.
– We are in the early stage of a major investigation with ties abroad. For the sake of the ensuing investigation, there are many details we can not reveal or confirm at present, Kripos states.
The police believe that several of the recipients are attached to gangs in Oslo.
– We have been working on these issues over time. In Oslo we have our own gang project. That project is tied into the Kripos operation. We have the main focus on handling the recipients in our district to stop the supply to gangs in Oslo in particular, states police chief in Oslo, Hans Sverre Sjøvold, during Friday’s press conference.
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