According to CBS News, Swedish customs officers seized approximately 1.4 tons of cocaine on April 18 in what may be the largest drug bust in the country’s history.
Swedish customs officers last week seized about 1.4 tonnes of cocaine at the port of Nynashamn, south of Stockholm, in what could be one of the largest drug busts in the country’s history, Swedish customs official Stefan Granas said on Tuesday. told broadcaster SVT. according to Go to CBS News.
Granas said the exact amount of cocaine seized has not yet been determined, but preliminary estimates are that it is one of the largest seizures ever in Sweden. “If it’s as large as we think it is, it’s one of the largest seizures we’ve ever had,” Granas said, according to CBS News. As a result of this operation, six men were arrested on suspicion of being involved in transporting drugs.
Swedish customs made the largest cocaine seizure in the country’s history after confiscating around 1.4 tonnes of cocaine at a port near Stockholm last week, officials told Swedish television on Tuesday. https://t.co/zGK4NQzI1z
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 23, 2024
The seized cocaine was probably intended for distribution throughout the European market, with Sweden acting merely as a transit point. “Just five to 10 years ago, it would have been highly unusual to seize just 100 kilograms,” Granas said, according to a CBS News report.
The case comes against the backdrop of wider challenges facing Europe, where criminal networks are increasingly infiltrating legitimate businesses. A recent report found that these networks were extensively involved in drug trafficking and corruption across the European Union, the paper said. (Related: ‘Unwavering Effort’: CBP San Diego Officers Seize More than $5 Million worth of Drugs in Two Weeks)
Other significant drug discoveries in Europe include 1.3 tonnes of cocaine discovered by Portuguese authorities in a shipment of frozen fish in March, and a record-breaking 17,600 tonnes discovered in a box of bananas in the Netherlands in August last year. lbs of cocaine, making it the largest seizure at the port of Rotterdam. , according to CBS News. Swedish customs had previously predicted that cocaine seizures would peak in 2022, with a total of 822 kilograms.
