Aound-the -clock staffing at Svinesund borders

Border SwedenBorder Sweden.Photo: Norway Today Media

Starting  this week, the border control at Svinesund will be staffed around the clock , all week.

Until now there have been gaps in the shedule for customs officers at Svinesund, which has meant that  sometimes there were no customs officers on duty.
This was taken advantage of by smugglers – they waited to cross the border until they saw that the border controls were unattended, reported NRK news.

Department chief Asle Farberg in Customs Region Eastern Norway tells of how smugglers watched closely when customs officers left from duty.

– We have also had cases where the undercover spotter have come right up to our window and looked in to see if there were anyone present, he said.

When this year’s budget was discussed last autumn, the order from the government and parliament clear: The main border controls should be staffed at all times.

– It has almost been a little embarrassing that we have had limited staffing at our main border crossings, said parliamentarian Ulf Leirstein then.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today

 

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