• Sweden edition

Swede caught with 1.4 tonnes of cocaine

Published: 28 Jul 10 08:56 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/28040/20100728/

A 54-year-old Swedish man is currently in custody on the Caribbean island of Martinique after French customs seized 1.4 tonnes of cocaine on his boat estimated to be worth about 800 million kronor ($109.51 million).

On June 4th, French customs seized a sailboat lying 40 nautical miles from island of Martinique in the West Indies. On the boat, customs officials found 1.4 tonnes of cocaine hidden among a number of jute sacks, Dagens Nyheter reported on Wednesday.

The cocaine seizure is the largest ever made in France. According to French customs, there are both Swedish and Spanish connections to the seizure, which was intended to be sold on the European market. The boat belongs to the man, who has been detained in Martinique since June 6th, according to DN.

"I have tried to visit the man, but so far, I have not received any permission from the authorities," said Philippe Huyghues-Despointes, Sweden's honorary consul in Fort-de-France on Martinique.

The man lives in western Sweden, has sat on a number of companies and has been previously convicted and sentenced to a short prison sentence.

"We believe that the investigation will take a long time," said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs' press director Anders Jörle.

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)

What do you think? Leave your comment below.

Fark It! Digg This  Share everywhere
Send to a friend Printable version Twitter This

Your comments about this article:

The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.

09:06 July 28, 2010 by sodafox
Hell... that would've really filled his floaties :)
09:17 July 28, 2010 by Soft Boiled
Thats a rather big habit! :0
10:24 July 28, 2010 by countrysidedrive
He is in big trouble. What a idiot.
11:17 July 28, 2010 by leroy
Oh no a swede Oh no cannot be true and so holy and pure. Never
11:25 July 28, 2010 by jonathanjames61
@leroy,oh yes its does hapen,oh yes its true,holiness is Gods act ,purness a man can never attain ,hahahahahaahah,he only want to create more junkies in our poor youths.Thank God he never made it,less curt cubain
11:59 July 28, 2010 by sodafox
oh grow up leroy.... ur no better than the swedes you put crap on.
13:11 July 28, 2010 by bungle
Lets hope he serves his sentence in a real prison and not a swedish 'hotel'
14:50 July 28, 2010 by eZee.se
Whoa!

Thats a serious amount of blow!

On a side topic:

For some reason TheLocal has not covered Pirate Party's offer to host WikiLeaks if they US govt. goes after it...

google is your friend ;)
17:12 July 28, 2010 by Syftfel
Don't you people understand? The 1.4 tons of coke wasn't his. It was an accident. He doesn't know how it got there. He didn't do it. He's innocent. Somebody planted it. It's a total mystery. It must have self-materialized. Evil spirits did it. He thought it was corn starch. Somebody asked him to transport sugar. It must have been a mistake. How could this have happened? It's not his. It's an Act of God. Someone else put it there. He's being set up. A stranger left it there. It must have jumped in the boat by itself. When he woke up, it was just there. He doesn't understand it. An octopus in the ocean threw it in there. He's not guilty.
18:19 July 28, 2010 by vicarno
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa oh my gush haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. @Syftfel you have said all.

@foxysoda why are you attacking leroy...........does it mean some swedes are not criminals you should grow up not leroy.

Just sad he has dragged my dear Sweden to the mud......He MUST serve his term in a Somalian jail.
22:52 July 28, 2010 by wxman
sodafox, you misunderstood leroy's by 180 degrees. It was sarcasm implying the opposite.
04:45 July 29, 2010 by omphus
Leroy ledouche
04:58 July 29, 2010 by Da Goat
Nah I think he said it was just for personal use! he just was sailing to another place to buy a big straw!
05:58 July 29, 2010 by mojofat
His other boat had the strippers...
20:14 July 30, 2010 by Mr. Puppy
In the future we're going to look back at the failed war on drugs with the same view as we now look back on the prudishness of Victorian society towards sex. Mind-altering substances have always been with us, always will be, are a part of life, and a lot of those that are illegal now will be legal again within our lifetimes.

This poor guy's only problem was being born before his time.
21:34 July 30, 2010 by farnoxo
@Syftfel - nice to see someone who doesn't descend into the "you are all evil and will be swallowed up by my great great god called [insert name of you current religion] rhetoric that usually happens after the 3rd post on every article.

@Mr. Puppy - pleasant to encounter a "social realist". From the moment we realised we could clobber woolly mammoths over the head with clubs, we have continually quested for ways to bend our minds.

I am a realist and I do know that certain drugs will (as in this is axiomatic) f$%k you up over the long term,let the good people decide themselves whether to dabble or not. I mean suicide is legal (like Wikipedia I am on shaky ground here - correct where necessary), so why not make drugs legal. As they say in the famous last attempt to get people to drink Dr. Pepper ... what's the worst that could happen?
ADD YOUR COMMENT   (YOU MUST LOG IN OR REGISTER TO MAKE A COMMENT)
Today's headlines
GOTHENBURG SCHOOL STABBING
Man held for stabbing Swedish 10-year-old

Man held for stabbing Swedish 10-year-old

A 28-year-old man suspected of stabbing a young girl in the throat at the beginning of February has been apprehended and is being held in another country pending Sweden's extradition demand. READ (2 COMMENTS) »

Swedish man lay 'dead for weeks' in Lund flat

A man in Lund, southern Sweden, lay dead in his house for weeks before his body was discovered, as visiting care staff had left after the man failed to answer his door. READ (3 COMMENTS) »

Sweden expels foreign official: report

The Swedish government said on Tuesday it has expelled a foreign diplomat, but spokespeople were unwilling to confirm international reports that it was a high level official from Rwanda. READ »

THE LOCAL LIST
Sweden's seven 'sexiest' places explored

Sweden's seven 'sexiest' places explored

On Valentine's Day, The Local invites you on a journey of seduction through Sweden, a country which may be worth probing further when it comes to matters of love. READ (3 COMMENTS) »

Valentine's Day in Sweden - readers' sweet tweets and love stories

Valentine's Day in Sweden - readers' sweet tweets and love stories

With Valentine's day upon us again, The Local called for messages from the star-crossed lovers of Sweden, who sent us their loving letters and sweet tweets in a celebration of love in Sweden. READ (2 COMMENTS) »

Swedish tourist halted for having 'terrorist name'

Swedish tourist halted for having 'terrorist name'

A Swedish man set to take off on his "dream holiday" to Mexico was turned away before boarding, as flight officials claimed he shared the name of a wanted terrorist. READ (22 COMMENTS) »

Swedish man suspected of 'kidnapping himself'

A 29-year-old man in northern Sweden has been remanded into custody together with an accomplice after trying to extort money from his parents by pretending he had been kidnapped. READ (6 COMMENTS) »

Sweden at ’real risk’ of terror: government

Sweden at ’real risk’ of terror: government

The Swedish Government has penned a new terror strategy, upgrading Sweden’s risk status since the last plan four years ago, calling for an ‘inter-agency cooperation’ in the fight to counter terror in Sweden. READ (12 COMMENTS) »

More National

Highlights from Follow Sweden

20 things to know before moving to Sweden

As diverse as Sweden is, there are a few societal norms that are distinctly Swedish. Understanding a handful of them will hopefully prepare you culturally before you relocate. When you're invited home to a Swede, you better be on time and take your shoes off, writes expat Lola Akinmade-Åkerström. Read more »

How far can English take you in Sweden?

Sweden is a country where almost everyone can speak English. So why bother to learn Swedish? Edina Varnagy from Hungary managed with English for a whole year but then found that Swedish could open doors – to a job, a social life and greater understanding. Read more »


Blog Update: Julie's Nordic Island

12 February 21:30

The consciousness of one »

"The ice dripped in the winter sun. It was the first day when the light had been intense enough to cause dripping in the sunlight. To hear it was an extraordinary wakeup call. The cycle was happening again as it always does, always will (or so we think). I imagined that on my summer island, the bees..." READ »

Highlights
afhunta (File)
DATING »
A Valentine's Day look at how how sex, booze and mobile phones can unravel that tantalizing mystery known as the strong, silent Nordic type
The Local
SOCIETY »
The Local's Oliver Gee finds out why the star of Sweden's version of 'The Office' thinks Sweden is the most PC country in the world
Micheal Brauer/Flickr (File)
SCIENCE & TECH »
'Drunkorexia' on the rise in Sweden: report
Alexander Lervik and Johan Carper
LIFESTYLE »
Seven Swedish designs that will blow your mind
Eva Rinadi Celebrity and Live Music Photography/Flickr
SOCIETY »
Star Wars in Swedish causes fan outrage
www.dotoday.se
LIFESTYLE »
What's On: The Local's guide to upcoming attractions and events in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.
OLIKA Publishing
OPINION »
The Swedish language needs a new pronoun free of preconceived notions about gender, a Swedish linguist and representatives from a publishing house argue
Madonna set for July 4th concert in Sweden
SOCIETY »
Madonna set for July 4th concert in Sweden
TV4
GALLERY »
An inside look at 'The Office' in Swedish
Georgios M.W (File)
SOCIETY »
Swedish mother gave 3-year-old cigs and beer
Photo: Fredrik Persson/Scanpix
SOCIETY »
A duvet cover designed to look like cardboard boxes, on sale at a luxury department store in Stockholm, has some arguing that the city's homeless are being exploited for profit.
Ann Catrin Brockman/Flickr (File)
LIFESTYLE »
Five Swedish songs that never made Eurovision
Q&A with Swenglish comedy star Ben Kersley
LIFESTYLE »
Swenglish comedy star Ben Kersley explains how ‘three bespectacled English guys’ plan to make Swedes laugh
Photo: Screenshot YouTube
SOCIETY »
Move over Bugs – a Swedish bunny is rapidly becoming the most popular rabbit in the world!
Photo: Sony Pictures
SPONSORED ARTICLE
How Millennium films tap deep into Swedish angst
Photo: Helena Wahlman
SPONSORED ARTICLE
Braving the cold: Ten reasons to spend winter in Sweden
Photo: ECLA
SPONSORED ARTICLE
A truly international education at the heart of Berlin
Highlights from Follow Sweden
Swedish word of the day

fin

adjective

Fin means anyhting from sweet to proper. When someone says, Du är så fin it's quite a compliment.

Latest news from The Local in Germany

More news from Germany at thelocal.de

Latest news from The Local in Switzerland

More news from Switzerland at thelocal.ch

Latest news from The Local in France

More news from France at thelocal.fr

Latest news from The Local in Norway

More news from Norway at thelocal.no

Blog
Highlights from Follow Sweden
New book about Sweden – get to know the country

Sweden – Up North, Down to Earth is a book about Sweden today. A country of natural beauty and open space, and a society focused on equality, human rights and sustainability. Meet regular and astonishing Swedes, supercars and indie rock bands, vampires and royalties.

Buy your copy of Sweden – Up North, Down to Earth from Sweden Bookshop

Search News


Register

Register now for:
> Free use of noticeboard
> Special discounts
> Weekly news roundup
> Unlimited use of discuss

REGISTER FOR FREE »

Jobs in Sweden, in English

521 jobs available
250 new jobs this week
45 new jobs today

ALL JOBS »

Get on the Tennis Court with www.babolatshop.se
The new Online Tennis Store with the largest selection of Babolat Products in Sweden
http://www.babolatshop.se
Turning Point Counseling
Turning Point Counselling centre offers the international community of Stockholm a safe space for personal development, counselling and coaching.
http://www.turning-point.se/show.asp
Swedish Down Town
Swedish Down Town PR Consulting and Productions is an innovative business company which provides valuable assistance with Public Relations and Communications in the swedish and the international market.
www.swedishdowntown.com
The Local's new Marketplace
Find products and services that are specifically focused on English speakers living in Sweden!
FULL DETAILS
English Speaking Therapist Stockholm
British-Australian Male Counsellor. Counselling Therapy for Depression, Mental Health, Sex, Relationship & Expat Issues
08-559 22 636 or CLICK HERE
Counseling in English
Individuals & Couples - Stockholm Beth Rogerson PhD - Clinical, Marriage & Family Therapist
Click or call 08-5580 1266 now
Doctor of Psychology
Therapy in English in Stockholm Trained in California Individuals & Couples (08) 93 81 48 FREE phone consultation
Visit anxiousorblue.se