Suspected Norwegian drug kingpin arrested in Morocco – NRK Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country

Kripos believes it is one of the biggest players on the Norwegian drug market that has now been knocked out of the game.

It happened after a man was arrested by the police in Morocco.

– We have received information from the Moroccan police that a 29-year-old Norwegian-Moroccan man who has been internationally wanted for over six years has been arrested in Morocco. The man has been arrested by Moroccan police in a Moroccan case, says police attorney Nora Pedersen in Kripos to NRK.

Run away from Norway

The Oslo man has been in the country since he escaped Norway in 2017. He ran away after being sentenced to five and a half years in prison for importing drugs and heroin.

– In Norway, the same man is charged with serious drug offences, and Kripos believes he is a key mastermind within organized crime, says the police attorney.

In total, Kripos links the man to the importation, storage and sale of more than 5 tonnes of cannabis and more than 250 kilograms of cocaine in the period 2016–2022.

The man’s defender is Øivind Brattlien.

– I know little about the arrest, but as far as I understand it is an internal matter in Morocco which basically has no significance for the case in Norway, he says.

Investigation in Morocco

According to NRK, he has been a priority target for the police, but because the man has shared citizenship, it will be very difficult for the Norwegian authorities to extradite him from Morocco.

– As of today, the Norwegian police do not have an extradition agreement with the Moroccan authorities and it is therefore not relevant to have the accused extradited to Norway. However, we have good cooperation with the Moroccan police, and we are now investigating the possibilities of traveling to Morocco to carry out a few more investigative steps, says Pedersen.

Kripos will not comment on the investigation in Morocco.

– Moroccan police must be contacted for information about the case in which the man has been arrested.

Kripos believes he has played a central role in the importation of several types of drugs into Norway for a number of years.

Linked to extensive drug case

This autumn, one of the biggest drug cases in Norwegian history has been played out in the Oslo District Court. A full 90 days were set aside for the trial.

Although the man in his 20s was not among the defendants in the case, Kripos believes that he plays an important role in the case.

The physical seizures in the case are five kilos of cocaine and a few hundred kilos of hashish. The indictment is instead based on analyzes of images, messages and the communication the defendants had with each other on the encrypted platform Sky ECC.

In an earlier version of this case, it was stated that the accused Norwegian was arrested in a coordinated, international police operation. The correct thing is that he was arrested by Moroccan police.