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Van carrying cyanide is still not found

The police search for a Mercedes Sprinter which was stolen from Lørenskog station. The car is a 2018 model with registration number CV 88344. The cargo contains medications intended for hospitals in Norway, including a container with the highly toxic substance cyanide. Photo: Private / Police

Stolen van carrying cyanide is still not found

A stolen van, which, among other drugs, contains the highly toxic substance cyanide, is still not found by the police. There are no suspects in the case.


“It’s still not found, but the police are investigating throughout the day. They are trying to conduct more interrogations on Sunday,” Operations Manager of the East Police District, Trond Lorentzen, tells VG.

The police have been working on the case through the night, and have, among other things, obtained surveillance videos as well as processing tips that have come in the case. The police checked a specific address on Romerike on Saturday night. This was, however, resultless. The said place is now checked out of the case.

The work of collecting and reviewing tips will continue throughout Sunday.

The content may have been dumped

“We do not rule out that the cargo is dumped. If anyone comes across suspicious items, we implore them to notify the police immediately and to be very cautious,” the police states in a press release.

The plastic container containing cyanide is small. It is white and has a red lid. It is uncertain exactly how it is labelled, but it indicates that the content is toxic.

The car is a Mercedes Sprinter, and is loaded with drugs intended for different hospitals in Norway.

The vehicle is a 2018 model with registration number CV 88344. It is silver coloured and has no special markings. The rearview camera is damaged, as is a reflector on the left rear end. The van is owned by a courier company located at Romerike, The Eastern Police District informs.

May have been after the cargo

The police are investigating the case as gross theft.

“We do not have any other evidence than that this is a car use theft, but we cannot rule out that the perpetrator has been after the cargo,” Police Lawyer, Berit Brekke Risbakken, tells NTB on Saturday.

After the police went out with a wanted notice for the car in the media on Saturday, a number of tips have come in. The police state that they intend to follow up on several of them. They do not wish to say anything about what kind of tips.

Cyanides and hydrocyanic acid are very toxic and affect almost instantaneously. The substance affects the cells’ ability to take up oxygen from the blood, causing a kind of internal suffocation. Symptoms of poisoning are violently enhanced breathing. The skin assumes a pink hue. The breath often smells of hydrocyanic acid, an odour reminiscent of bitter almonds (which contains the substance).

The circumstances surrounding the car theft – and why the car was possibly left unguarded – are not yet made public.


© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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