Seven men and one woman are currently in custody on suspicion of having participated in smuggling more than three kilos of very strong cocaine to Iceland earlier this month. The cocaine was delivered from Alicante, Spain in two packages, each weighing 1,600 grams.
Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
The first package was brought into the country on April 10, carefully hidden in the suitcase of a Reykjavík resident in his fifties. A younger man collected the suitcase at the man’s home, placed it in a car and drove it to the home of an alleged accomplice, visir.is reports.
A fourth suspect arrived at the house and he and the homeowner took the suitcase outside to the newcomer’s car and opened it there. Police were following their movements and arrested them at that point. A fifth man was also arrested in relation to the first delivery.
Early the following morning, a young couple arrived on an airplane from Alicante. They turned out to have a similar amount of cocaine hidden in their suitcase. It is believed that these two cases are related.
Later an eighth individual was arrested in connection with this case but now one of the eight has been released.
Of those arrested, Davíd Gardarsson is believed to have played the biggest role in the cocaine smuggling. He has many convictions on his record. In 2005 he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for rape. He escaped but later gave himself up and was caught in India in March 2007.
In January 2007, while Gardarsson was on the run, a group of people were sentenced to prison for cocaine smuggling. During questioning, Gardarsson’s name was mentioned in relation to having organized the smuggling.
In an interview with Fréttabladid in 2007, Gardarsson said, “I have given up on crime a long time ago and am just a former criminal.”
Gardarsson is not believed to be the mastermind behind the drug smuggling case that is currently under investigation, but rather another Icelander who lives in Spain. He has been searched with the aid of Europol since the cocaine was confiscated but has not yet been found.
According to Fréttabladid’s sources, his name is Sverrir Thór Gunnarsson, a man who has been involved in several large drug smuggling cases. Since being released from prison the last time, he has lived abroad, both in Spain and Brazil.
Click here to read more about Gardarsson.
