The new law on export smuggling comes into force on September 1 - and in connection with this, customs will have extended powers to search for stolen goods on their way out of the country. The work will be a completely new part of the Customs Authority's main task.
I think many have taken it for granted that the Customs Authority has had the task of searching for stolen goods when we stand at the border. But we have not had it, it's new, says General Director Johan Norrman.
The international theft gangs have been estimated by the police to be behind at least 50 percent of burglaries and around 90 percent of thefts of cars, car parts, boat engines, and agricultural machinery in Sweden. The insurance industry estimates the annual value of insured stolen goods taken out of the country to 1.5 billion kronor.
Collaboration with the police
Exactly how the controls will look, Johan Norrman does not want to go into, but he says it will never be possible to check everything.
We have close cooperation with the Police Authority and for us, it's always about being in the right place at the right time. The police can tell us about the suspected flows of stolen goods they see, which means we will choose where we make our controls.
The new task must at the same time be balanced with the work to stop the smuggling of, for example, narcotics and weapons into Sweden, he emphasizes.
We have high smuggling pressure today, we are having record years after record years. So it will be a challenge to balance these controls.
Want more money
The new task from September 1 is part of a larger change within the customs, which also received new powers last autumn and today has a generally broadened task in crime prevention. In accordance with this, they hope for increased allocations and have asked for an additional nearly 1.3 billion kronor over the next three years.
We have submitted an offensive budget proposal and we hope that we can continue our development. It's not that we lack tasks, but it's just these tough priorities that are the challenge.
But a guess as to how much stolen goods the customs will seize, the General Director does not dare to make.
When we carry out active controls and efforts, we will take more than we have done before, how much remains to be seen.
Marc Skogelin/TT
Export smuggling
TT
The new crime of export smuggling comes into force on September 1, 2025.
The crime makes it illegal to engage in something that can reasonably be assumed to originate from theft, "in a way that is intended to hinder a return", with the intention of taking it abroad.
For offenses of normal severity, the maximum penalty is two years in prison. For serious offenses, up to six years in prison can be imposed.
When assessing whether the crime is serious, particular consideration shall be given to whether the act has involved significant value, been part of a systematic crime, or otherwise been of a particularly dangerous nature.
Source: Penal Code
