Increase in drug confiscations

The confiscations of drugs on trains between Copenhagen and Malmö have more than tripled in the past three years.  

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  The confiscations of drugs on the Öresund trains between Copenhagen and Malmö have more than tripled in the past three years.

• Increase in drug confiscations
  The confiscations of drugs on trains between Copenhagen and Malmo have more than tripled in the past three years. “You can’t explain in words what is going on in Christiania. Swedish youths lining up to buy dope, it's a terrible sight,” says Lars Hansson, Customs' drug specialist. And the numbers speak for themselves. Only the three first months of the year, Customs has confiscated almost as much drugs on the Öresundståg (the train running from Copenhagen to Malmö) as during all of the year 2009. Many of the smugglers are very young, some as young as 15. “Most of the smuggling takes place on Thursdays and Fridays,” Hansson explains. “That’s when these young people prepare for the weekend parties. We have an average of 15-30 cases per day then. Over the weekends we have close to no cases at all.” Customs has in view of developments increased its presence on the trains, helped by 25 sniffer dogs and civilian personnel.
  “We have the right to board trains on the Danish side. If we do this in uniforms, it is easy for smugglers to get off the train. We work civilly for that simple reason”, says Lars Bäckström, head of Customs' border protection in Skåne.