Denmark appears to be the main transit country for hash smuggled into Sweden and Norway, according to Berlingske in a follow-up to Sunday night’s incident in which one man died and two were injured when police stopped three Norwegians attempting to smuggle hash to Norway.

“It is difficult to be precise, but my best bet is that 90 per cent of all hash seized in Sweden comes through Denmark,” Swedish Customs Narcotics experts Lars Hansson tells Berlingske.

Sweden expects 2012 to be a record year for hash seizures at around 1.2 tonnes – about double the amount seized in 2010 and 2011 together.

Norway also appears to look south for the provenance of hash smuggled into the country.

“We know that a lot is smuggled from the Danish coast to many Norwegian harbours in traffic that has been going on for many years,” Agder Police District Organised Crime Chief Leif Vagle tells Berlingske.

It was the Norwegian police that tipped off the Danish police to the likelihood of an operation to smuggle a consignment of hash from Aalbæk in N. Jutland to Norway that resulted in Sunday night’s police raid.

A consignment of 250 kg. of hash was to be loaded onto a fast Norwegian speedboat. In an exchange of fire that took place as three men tried to escape, a 49-year-old Norwegian died, two others including a police officer were wounded and a third Norwegian was arrested unscathed.

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