A little over a year ago, in November last year, Swedish Customs staff were given the opportunity to check letters and packages from abroad that had already passed the first postal terminal at the border – that is, to carry out checks at larger sorting terminals that the mail continues to before it reaches the recipient.
“Very difficult”
Stefan Granath, deputy head of the Swedish Customs Control Department, says that many of the border terminals for international mail are located in southern Sweden, and that the authority can now use more personnel in other parts of the country to search for drugs.
It was very difficult for a small group to feel like they had to control all the mail. Now you can use groups around the country in a better way, says Granath.
So far, the change in the law seems to have led to more letters and packages containing drugs being stopped. So far this year, Swedish Customs has made 20 percent more drug seizures in mail and parcels compared to all of 2024.
We also had the opportunity to control what is called general cargo, that is, goods that are on pallets. A completely new flow has emerged there and we have been quite successful there, says Granath.
“Must invest”
He believes that drug seizures will continue to increase in 2026.
"We are investing more and more in carrying out checks on the mail and courier flow. We know that organized crime uses this flow and that they often change suppliers, so this is something we need to invest more in," says Granath.
The Swedish Customs has carried out checks at 55 locations in the country in 2025, compared to 33 locations in 2024.
So far in 2025, Swedish Customs has made almost 2,700 drug seizures in international mail. In total, just over 2,250 drug seizures were made throughout 2024.
In pure weight, this is around 3.6 tons so far in 2025, compared to around 2.6 tons in 2024.
The increased amount of seized drugs mainly concerns cannabis, narcotic mushrooms and sedatives.
Source: Swedish Customs
