Steffen Eriksen, Customs | Steffen Eriksen became a “Toll” celebrity overnight: – I have to offer myself

GARDERMOEN (Mitt Jessheim): – I get many inquiries about selfies.

That’s what Steffen Eriksen says, the customs inspector at Gardermoen who we have been able to follow in the series “Toll” on TV 2 for four seasons.

– If I’m not busy, they get a picture. I have to offer myself.

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These days, Novemberfilm is recording seasons five and six of the TV 2 series and Eriksen is in focus – as always.

He is approaching almost 40 years of experience as a customs officer, first at Fornebu, later he joined the moving cargo when the main airport opened at Gardermoen in 1998. Now many people also recognize the customs officer from TV 2’s new venture “The Game”, where Eriksen was voted out early on the house, but which has become part of the “basement layer”.

– Recognize me

– There are of course some people who recognize me, both from “The Game” and “Toll”. Many people think the latter is a good programme, and many follow the series. I only get positive feedback. But that there is someone who constantly needs to say that they have seen me on TV – that is excess information, and I do not need to know that.

The series is a working reality that gives viewers an insight into the everyday life of the Norwegian Customs Service. The series premiered on 1 April 2020 and was a success for TV 2. Eriksen is one of the customs officers who has been with from the first season.

– It is the same as before and we are getting used to it. We have had almost a year and a half break from recording, but now we are back at it.

He doesn’t think it does much to have a camera crew in tow.

– It’s going well and there isn’t that much extra work. What takes time are interviews and syncs, and we are not too happy to do that. We would rather be out working than just talking about the work we do, says Eriksen.

In the series, you follow the customs officers and the work they do at several of the border crossings between Norway and neighboring countries such as Oslo Airport, Svinesund and Ørje. Eriksen believes the series has made the customs job easier.

– Always people trying to smuggle

– And that is one of the reasons why I agreed to join. Many believe that Customs is a red and green zone, cigarettes, spirits and wine. But it is so much more than that. And that’s what we want to show. We do a lot more than what people associate with customs.

The customs authority controls border crossings, transport of goods, consignments of luggage including online shopping, as well as quotas and the import and export of goods.

– I feel that people have opened their eyes to what we do. There is some adult training and people have become more aware of the regulations. There are probably more people who have found out that it is okay to pay customs duty on some goods they bring with them. The series has had a preventive effect on people, but there are always people who try to smuggle.

Eriksen works on a rotating basis at Gardermoen in the task force, but is also a supervisor for new employees and travels a lot for training purposes to both Bergen, Stavanger and Svinesund.

– I think it’s good to be part of the series, but at the same time think that it can’t go on forever. In that case it will be without me, says Eriksen with a smile.

Five kilograms of heroin

The recordings for the 48 episodes that are being recorded now are planned to be shown in the spring of 2025. Customs makes many seizures, and Novemberfilm can document several of them. Among other things, a large seizure of five kilograms of heroin in the spring of 2022. Due to the fact that the police seized the video material while the case was being investigated, this has not been shown before.

– It is one of the last major heroin seizures we have made here. She said she was deceived, and the court believed her. She ended up getting a sentence as low as someone caught with a suitcase of marijuana.

Eriksen tells about the incident with the German lady that happened on a spring day at Gardermoen two years ago.

– We stand at the gate and carry out an ID check of all the passengers and thus have control over her from the moment she gets off the plane. We follow every second of her via surveillance videos and then take her in for a check-up. Here we find heroin stuffed into various items in the suitcase. She is later convicted of gross negligence, but it is not. It is intentional. She knows what she’s doing. The fact that it does not appear in court with the images from Novemberfilm and my testimony is incomprehensible, he says and adds:

– There has also been a thorough police investigation. What makes her only get three years is something to be puzzled about.