These are the latest developments in the Norræna ferry drug case reported on yesterday, according to RÚV:
The Dutch couple arrested on suspicion of smuggling about 80 kilos of a white substance to the country yesterday, are in their mid-forties. They have been placed in police custody for two weeks.
They came to Seyðisfjörður onboard the Norræna ferry, but had rented the RV, in which the substance was found, from a car rental abroad. The ferry sailed from Hirtshals in Denmark with a stopover in the Faroe Islands.
No attempt was made at hiding the substance well. It was simply packed with the rest of the couple’s luggage in the RV. Therefore, it was not hard to detect.
The pair was transported separately by Air Iceland to Reykjavík yesterday afternoon and the man is now in Litla Hraun prison. As far as RÚV knows, he has been questioned, but has not confessed.
Police have declined to provide any further information. The East Iceland Police state it will take a few days to analyze and weigh the substance. It is not known whether any Icelanders have been questioned in connection with the case. RÚV has been informed that the couple denies any connection to the country, claiming they have never been here before.
When asked whether many events had led up to this, Árni Elísson, chief customs officer in Seyðisfjörður denied that, but said discovery of the drugs was the result of “quality risk analysis by customs officials in Iceland in cooperation with customs authorities in the Faroe Islands and the Icelandic Police.”
Vísir reports the work of customs officials is commendable, especially in light of the fact that only four customs officers work in all of East Iceland. Their workload is more that they can handle. Stefán Bjargmundsson, deputy chief customs officer, says he’d like to see more customs officers, especially now that the stream of tourists has increased considerably.
