- Today, the duty of the customs has been focused on preventing drugs, explosives or other smuggling from entering Sweden. Now we are ready to give the Customs new powers to also stop and prevent these international theft leagues from exporting goods from Sweden, says Interior Minister Mikael Damberg to SVT News.

Problems with theft of car parts

This message comes as a direct response to the report that the police, the Customs Administration and the Coast Guard jointly submitted to the Interior Minister. The report describes how a couple of years of enhanced cooperation in dealing with international crime networks has worked. And it has gotten better, at least in some areas.

- We see that home burglaries and boat-related thefts are decreasing. However, we do not see the same positive development when it comes to burglaries in holiday homes and thefts of car parts, says Mats Löfving, who is the head of the National Police Department (Noa).

Frustration among employees

One of the proposals that the police, the Customs Administration and the Coast Guard are now presenting is to give increased powers for the customs to stop suspected goods moving out of the country.

- There has been great frustration, not least from the public, but also from our employees, that customs cannot intervene if we see suspected theft. That is why I think it is very good that we now have the authority to do so, ”says Fredrik Holmberg, who is the deputy director general at the Customs Administration.