The shipment with waterpipe tobacco was identified at a postal terminal in Malmö on Friday, November 29. The shipment was monitored and the following Monday, Customs could strike against the company address that received the delivery.
The tobacco and the large sum of cash were seized, and three people were arrested.
Two of them are now detained, suspected of the crime. Since waterpipe tobacco itself is not illegal, but only needs to be taxed upon import, the crime classification is illegal transportation of taxable goods.
The two men are known to the police from before, according to prosecutor Sandra Helgadottir.
One of the men is also suspected of serious money laundering regarding the cash, she says.
Hand Grenades Thrown
Over the weekend, the case took another turn when three hand grenades were thrown at the company premises where the seizure was made.
At present, we do not know if it has to do with the import, the cash, or if it has no direct connection at all, except that it is the same address, says Sandra Helgadottir.
Alarming Development
The development worries Erik Friberg at Customs.
The connection to this hand grenade incident is alarming, that such elements exist even in this type of case and seizure, not just linked to large drug cases.
It is unusual for such large quantities of waterpipe tobacco to be seized.
The criminals want to make money – and what they can make money on, they take in. If there is a market or a customer base, they want to profit from it, so it's not really surprising, says Erik Friberg.
