For the past two weeks, the Swedish Customs Service has intensified its work against cocaine through a permanent presence in the port of Helsingborg, where the authority checked the Ecuadorian banana containers.
- We see a risk area regarding drugs, mainly cocaine from South America.
We have made several large seizures over the years that can be linked to Helsingborg, says Oscar Lindvall, deputy unit manager at the Swedish Customs Administration.
Noticed in Halmstad
The two-week effort in the port was something that was noticed 80 kilometers away, at a local fruit and vegetable wholesaler in Halmstad.
- There is a smaller quantity of organic bananas and we have cut back quite a lot.
It feels like it is a difficult product going forward because the volume is not there, says Henrik Petersson, buyer and co-owner of Hembergs Trädgårdsprodukter.
No narcotics were seized during the operation, but Oscar Lindvall believes that the presence was nevertheless successful.
- We want to send a message.
The risk of getting caught has increased alarmingly, and this applies not only to those who pick up the narcotics at the port but also to those who organise, he says.
Ecuadorian banana containers
Today, the Swedish Customs Administration knows that virtually all cocaine smuggled into Helsingborg comes via the Ecuadorian banana containers.
But controlling them all is an impossibility.
- Then we would have had to spend all the resources we have on every day of the year in the port of Helsingborg, says Oscar Lindvall, deputy unit manager at the Swedish Customs Administration.
The authority is located in several locations around Skåne, in Trelleborg, for example, over 1,000 trucks pass through every day.
- We have the Helsingör ferries, Ystad, Trelleborg and the Öresund Bridge to check.