Large cocaine smuggling operation to Nordland uncovered – run from prison in Bodø
Police have uncovered an extensive drug trafficking operation between Eastern Norway and Nordland. A person already in prison is suspected of having led parts of the network from his cell.
Drug network with roots in Turkey dismantled in Nordland
Police in Nordland have uncovered an extensive drug trafficking operation that, according to nrk.no, has extended from Eastern Norway northwards to North Norway over a long period. Several people have been arrested and remanded in custody in the case, which the investigation shows has international connections – including to Turkey.
"In this operation, several kilograms of cocaine have been seized. The investigation has shown that multiple trips have been carried out from Eastern Norway and northwards regularly over a long period. So we suspect that the actual quantities are larger," says prosecutor Gaute Rydmark.
Ran the network from Bodø prison
One of those involved is already serving a lengthy prison sentence for serious drug-related crime. Police believe this person has played a central role in drug trafficking even whilst in custody – including from Bodø prison.
"Through examination of mobile phone data, the name of the person in question came up. In addition, we became aware that this person has had mobile phones in his cell," says Rydmark.
Police have seized four mobile phones. Examination of these shows, according to Rydmark, that the person has corresponded about what has been taking place in the network.
When asked what this says about security work in Norwegian prisons, Rydmark responds that it is the prison service that must answer that question – but emphasises that inmates should not have mobile phones in their cells.
Most arrested in their 20s and 30s
Rydmark states that most of those arrested are in their 20s and 30s. Police do not rule out further arrests.
"There are several other local criminal actors involved in the investigation," says the leader of the Joint Unit for Intelligence and Investigation (FEFE), Finn Erik Rødsand.
According to Rydmark, key actors higher up in the network are located elsewhere in the country.
"By stopping this trafficking route, which we believe we have done, we have also struck the national network and prevented further transport northwards," he says.
Linked to "Fjellreven" and violent assignments
According to police, the case can be linked to the wanted person known as "Fjellreven" – a man who has been at large since 2018, and who has previously been charged with murder plans and with running criminal activity from Turkey.
Actors in the network are also reportedly linked to violent assignments. Police warn against young people being recruited to carry out such assignments for the network.
"Police are particularly concerned that local criminal actors have such close ties to key criminal actors abroad, particularly given the violence potential of these actors," says Rødsand from FEFE.
He points out that drug debt can lead to violent collection methods against those who owe money.
Part of national drive against criminal networks
Police in Nordland have worked systematically over time to map criminal networks in the region. As recently as October, a Swedish man in his 20s was arrested in Bodø, suspected of attempting to build up a criminal network.
Rydmark links the operations directly to the government's initiative from 2024, in which authorities allocated significant funds to combating organised crime.
"This is a direct result of that initiative. Now work is being done much more closely on these cases, both locally and across police districts – precisely to strike the distribution of drugs between the various districts in Norway," he says.
Rødsand describes the situation as a gradual improvement in police oversight.
"We should be cautious about saying that we have control, but we are at least getting a better overview of how the networks operate with each passing day – both regarding who is collaborating across boundaries and how the distribution takes place," says Rydmark.
Source: Google News NO — Vold/Narkotika