20/01/2008 00:00:00
Sweden's cocaine use on the up
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Cocaine use in Sweden is on the up and up, thanks in part to a sharp
fall in street prices, police say. Swedish law enforcers are now
considering stationing a police officer in South American to gather
intelligence on the drugs trade.
"We can't tackle global crime by sitting in Sweden. We need to go to the
roots of this evil," said Thord Modin, head of the Swedish National
Criminal Investigation Department's intelligence arm.
Police, social services and Swedish Customs say their experiences all
point to an increase in cocaine use in Sweden, according to a new report
by police and customs.
Placing a Nordic police liaison officer in Venezuela or Costa Rica would
be one way of getting to grips with the problem, police say. They argue
that it would improve contact with authorities in the countries where
cocaine is produced and through which it is transported. It would also
improve contact with the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, "which
has great resources and contacts," said Modin.
Putting a liaison officer in Colombia is not being considered "because
of the security situation in the country, but also because of a lack of
fast, efficient flight connections and other infrastructure," said Modin.
The new report says cocaine use is increasing particularly among young
people in Sweden's cities. Less cocaine - 23 kilos - was seized in
Sweden last year than the year before. But 2006 was untypical, as that
year customs officers seized two major consignments of a total of 1,300
kilos. Last year the number of seizures was up to 105, from 89 the year
before.
Per Westberg, head of Swedish Customs' criminal investigation arm, said
that all information pointed to cocaine being an increasing problem.
"I think this will be shown in our seizure statistics at the end of this
year," he said.
Swedish Customs estimates that 5-10 percent of all narcotics entering
Sweden are detected. In order to increase that figure, better
intelligence from authorities in other countries in needed, said
Westberg. Another important challenge for Swedish police is to get to
the core of the smuggling networks, many of which are recruited from
particular ethnic groups.
"An individual courier is quite easy to replce," said Westberg.
The report also says that amphetamines, originating mainly in the
Netherlands, Belgium and Poland, are common in Sweden.
Cannabis remains the most common illegal drug, although use is not
rising significantly. 80 percent of the cannabis in Sweden comes from
Morocco. Swedish authorities need to improve cooperation with these
countries too, said Westberg.
http://www.thelocal.se/9715/20080120/
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=13181
Author:
The Local via UKCIA
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