16 Norwegians have been arrested in an operation against an international drug network

It was last July that Kripos began an investigation into an attempted assassination of a Norwegian-registered sailing ship in the Atlantic Ocean. There were two citizens from Norway on board the boat, and during the investigation, traces were found that showed that they were smuggling drugs with the boat, Kripos writes in a press release.

– It was then natural to establish a drug investigation, where we gradually saw the formation of a network with several Norwegian actors in key roles, who have smuggled cocaine from South America to Europe with boats- sails, says police lawyer Anja Perminow Stenersen in Kripos.

1.5 tons of cocaine

According to Kripos, several of the actors lived in Spain. The Norwegian police therefore began to cooperate with the Spanish police, including through the use of Norwegian contacts in Spain.

– There were several similarities to an ongoing investigation in Spain, where the Policia Nacional collaborated with the National Crime Agency (NCA) in Great Britain, says Stenersen.

She says there were many signs that it was the same criminal network.

– As a result of the investigative collaboration, 1.5 tons of cocaine were seized in Martinique at the end of 2023. At the same time, eight people were arrested by the Spanish police in connection with this arrest, says Perminow Stenersen .

Six Norwegians were extradited

After the cocaine arrest, the investigation of the network continued that the police in several countries arrested a total of 52 people. Twelve of them are Norwegians who were arrested in Norway on the basis of an arrest warrant from the Spanish police. Of these, six have so far been taken to Spain.

In addition, two Norwegian citizens were arrested in Colombia and two in Spain. A former Norwegian citizen was also arrested in Spain.

– The police believe that there is reason to suspect that the network has imported many drugs over time. As this investigation is led by Spanish police, we cannot go into the details of the investigation at this time, says Perminow Stenersen.

“The Professor”

according to VG Spanish police have identified at least ten yachts they believe were used. According to the newspaper’s information, the Norwegians have been mechanics, captains and crew on several of the boats. Several of them are also listed as owners of several yachts, according to Spanish court documents.

– It is worrying that Norwegian citizens have played key roles in a criminal network of such quality. This case shows that the roads from South America to Norway are not that long, says the manager of the study Elin Sylte Eikrem in Kripos to the newspaper.

According to the Norwegian police, the Spanish police believe that a Norwegian man in his 40s from Eastern Norway is the main leader of the cocaine boat league. Spanish police refer to him as “El Profesor” – “The Professor” – because in Spain he is said to have pretended to be a Norwegian teacher. The man does not understand the accusations, writing the newspaper.

Spanish police believe a Kosovar Albanian man in his 40s, who previously lived in Norway and was convicted twelve years ago in the Court of Appeal in a major drug case, is a high-ranking official. .

– Our investigation has shown that there are two people with connections to Norway who are in the middle, who we believe are at the level of organizer and manager, says Eikrem.

In the chaos on the Solkysten

Spanish police wrote in a press release July 19 that it is believed that “El Profesor” has been involved in the drug trade for more than 20 years. They believe that he is the one who hired the crew members on the sailing boats.

According to the Spanish police, one of the many Norwegians detained is a bank and valuable transport thief who had already been in prison for several years.

They believe that “El Profesor” coordinated the production and transportation of drugs with Colombian and Mexican cartels. On the sunny coast of Spain, the members of the crime group lived with a high standard of living, thanks to the criminal activity of the Spanish police state.

According to the police, the investigation has shown that the group used Valencia, Alicante, Almería, Malaga and the Canary Islands as logistics points before sailing to South America. In Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia, the sailboats were detained, and here they waited for orders from “El Profesor” and his right-hand man to load the drugs .