Sweden is stepping up its fight against international theft rings with a new law granting customs expanded powers to intercept stolen goods. Starting September 1, customs will actively search for stolen items like luxury cars and boat engines, valued at 1.5 billion SEK annually. This initiative, in collaboration with the police, aims to curb the export of stolen goods, despite the ongoing challenge of balancing resources with anti-smuggling efforts.
Crackdown on International Theft Rings: New Law Empowers Swedish Customs
Crackdown on International Theft Rings: New Law Empowers Swedish Customs
Boat engines, luxury cars, and heirloom jewelry—each year, international rings manage to smuggle stolen goods worth 1.5 billion SEK out of Sweden. Now, it's about to get tougher.
The new law on export fencing comes into effect on September 1, granting customs expanded powers to search for stolen goods leaving the country. This task becomes a new core mission for the Swedish Customs Service.
"I think many have assumed that the Customs Service has had the task of searching for stolen goods at the border. But we haven't had that; it's new," says Director General Johan Norrman.
International theft rings are estimated by the police to be behind at least 50% of home burglaries and about 90% of thefts involving cars, car parts, boat engines, and agricultural machinery in Sweden. The insurance industry estimates the annual value of insured stolen goods taken out of the country at 1.5 billion SEK.
Collaboration with the Police
Johan Norrman is tight-lipped about the specifics of the controls but notes that it's impossible to check everything.
"We have a close collaboration with the Police Authority, and for us, it's always about being in the right place at the right time. The police can inform us about suspected flows of stolen goods, which helps us decide where to conduct our checks."
This new mission must be balanced with efforts to stop the smuggling of drugs and weapons into Sweden, he emphasizes.
"We face high smuggling pressure today, setting record after record. So balancing these controls will be a challenge."
Seeking More Funding
The new mission from September 1 is part of a broader change within customs, which also received new powers last fall and now has a generally expanded role in crime prevention. In line with this, they hope for increased funding and have requested nearly 1.3 billion SEK more over the next three years.
"We have submitted an aggressive budget proposal, and we hope to continue our development. It's not that we lack tasks, but these tough priorities are the challenge."
However, the Director General is cautious about predicting how much stolen goods customs will seize.
"When we conduct active controls and operations, we will seize more than we have before, but how much remains to be seen."