Cheap Norway nappies smuggled via Sweden

A gang of Lithuanian diaper smugglers is using Sweden as a transit country to ferry cheap nappies bought in Norway for resale at a stiff markup in eastern Europe.

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While Norway is generally known for high-priced consumer goods, when it comes to diapers, Sweden's neighbour to the west looks like a relative bargain.

In Norway, a pack of diapers costs about the equivalent of 25 Swedish kronor ($3.50). In Lithuania, on the other hand, a pack of new nappies can set parents back 120-140 kronor, the Aftonbladet newspaper reports.

But a group of enterprising smugglers believed to be based in Lithuania have made a concerted effort to exploit the sizeable price differential by transporting thousands of diapers from Norway through Sweden en route to points of sale in eastern Europe.

"We think it's an organized operation," Norwegian customs official Bjørn Sørli told the newspaper.

In April, Norwegian customs stopped two suspected nappy smugglers in Tröndelag, a region in north central Norway which borders on the Swedish county of Jämtland.

The two were found to be transporting diapers worth 44,000 Norwegian kroner ($7,350).

And just last Saturday, a truck was stopped near the Swedish border carrying a load of diapers with an estimated street value of more than 200,000 kronor reportedly purchased at a discount shopping centre in Norway and believed to be destined for Lithuania.

"Someone is earning good money doing this, The drivers have a shopping list with them when they come to Norway and buy what's been ordered," Sørli told Aftonbladet.