On Monday, the trial begins against two men who are accused of illegally importing drugs into Norway.
It may sound like an ordinary trial, but the circumstances are quite special.
On the night of Monday 27 December, the two men drove across the Hardangervidda. When the car came to Litlastøl on national road 7, things went wrong.
– The car drove down a precipice and ended up 20 meters down from the road. It was just a stroke of luck that they got on well in the car, says police lawyer Ørjan Ogne to TV 2.
– SEARCH: Here we see the emergency services’ helicopter search the area where the car drove down the cliff, night to Monday 27 December 2021. Photo: Police
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Unexpected discovery
The weather was shaky and the degree showed 11 minus. The motor vehicle was completely wrecked, but both the driver and the passenger miraculously survived.
– It should not really work, but it seems that they had pig luck, says car salvage Bjørn Lægreid – also known as one of the main characters in the internationally acclaimed series «Heroes of the winter road»On the National Geographic Channel.
– ON SITE: Bilberger Bjørn Lægreid says it was slippery at the place where the car drove downhill. Photo: Penelope Larsen / TV 2
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He was one of the first on the scene after the accident, and says the road was slippery.
When the police arrived, it turned out that this was something more than just a rescue mission.
When the car was about to be lifted, a tablet was suddenly found around the wreck.
– The police naturally became curious, and then went to work more thoroughly, says Ogne.
That search yielded returns. Just beyond the car, squeezed against the mountain wall, the police found a shopping bag full of at least 30,000 tablets.
Tried to hide
According to the indictment, these are pills with narcotic active ingredients, as well as drugs – Rivotril and Pregabalin, respectively.
Most of the tablets were tried to be hidden under the snow. We will hear what they themselves say in court about this, says the police attorney.
Both the two men were flown to the hospital in Voss with minor injuries.
After police found the pills, the perpetrators were arrested while in hospital.
– They were being treated while the police were trying to get the car back on the road. The crime scene was to be cleared, and that was when the tablets were found. When you see where the car ended up in relation to the road, it is almost incomprehensible that they came so well from it, says Ogne.
– INJURIES: The car the two accused men put in was completely wrecked. Photo: Penelope Larsen / TV 2
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– Acknowledges having been a courier
Neither the two defenders Simon Skarstein Waaler nor Abdelilah Saeme have any comment on the special circumstances surrounding the case – that is, the descent, the finding of the tablets by the cliff, or the fact that the two clients survived in a lucky way.
Saeme nevertheless states that his client admits criminal guilt.
– He admits to having been a courier for this drug, says the defender, and adds that his client was a passenger and was asleep when the accident happened.
The other man has a residential address in Bergen, and according to his defender does not admit criminal guilt.
– FALL: This is what the cliff looks like in daylight. All those involved say it is a stroke of luck that the accused survived the 20 meter high fall. Photo: Stine Myklatun
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– The entrance was so dramatic
In addition to the introduction of drugs, one man is charged with illegal entry into Norway.
The man, who now lives in the Netherlands, was deported by the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration in 2012, and returned to Norway on October 4 – almost three months before the accident.
– The whole case is special because the entrance was so dramatic. The extent and amount of tablets means that the relationship is classified as a serious drug crime, says Ogne.
The trial starts on Monday 23 May, and two days have been set aside in Hordaland District Court.
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