Vísir reports that a man has been arrested in Brazil by the Brazilian authorities in a joint operation with the Icelandic police. The man in question is believed to be Sverrir Þór Gunnarsson, also known as Sveddi Tönn, who has a long history of drug-related offences in Iceland, Spain, and Brazil.
The operation was carried out due to concerns about the flow of drugs from Brazil to Europe and Iceland, which is believed to be linked to a group associated with Sverrir. The Icelandic police have been cooperating with the Brazilian authorities for some time in connection with this case.
Sverrir Þór Gunnarsson was born in 1972 and has a criminal record that started when he was sixteen. He was first convicted of minor drug and traffic offences and was given the nickname Sveddi Tönn because of his appearance, supposedly resembling a tooth. In 2000, Sverrir was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for his involvement in a large-scale drug trafficking case known as “The Big Drug Case.” Thirteen people were convicted, and Sverrir received the second heaviest sentence.
In November 2012, Sverrir was sentenced to 22 years in prison in Brazil for organizing the smuggling of around fifty thousand ecstasy tablets. He was released from prison in Brazil but was put under house arrest. Later, he fled Brazil and was on the run until his recent arrest.
The Brazilian police have announced that the operation was part of a large-scale crackdown on organized crime groups involved in money laundering and drug trafficking. Around 250 police officers were involved in the operation, which targeted 49 locations, resulting in 33 arrests.
The police are reported to have seized 65 kg of cocaine and 225 kg of cannabis in the operation.
