The short version
- The Norwegian Customs Union and Bama demand better security in the port of Oslo
- In 2023, three large cocaine seizures were made at Bama’s facility in Groruddalen. Bama fears for the safety of its own employees.
- The duo asks the government to give more money to the Customs Agency for equipment and more man-years
- Schaug and Gulbrandsen think Norway is an easy target for criminal gangs
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– There is better security at the ports in South America.
That’s what executive director of Bama, Pia Gulbrandsen, tells VG.
VG meets Gulbrandsen and the head of the Norwegian Customs Union, Karin Tanderø Schaug, in the harbor of Oslo.
For several years, the Norwegian Customs Union has been saying that the level of security in the port is nowhere near good enough.
The customs agency lacks both customs officers at the border, equipment and control premises to be able to follow up the enormous volumes that cross our borders every day.
Not our job
Now Bama stands behind the problem. In 2023, three large cocaine seizures were made at their facility in Groruddalen. The cocaine was found among bananas that came from South America, and via Europe and the port of Oslo.
Bama and the Norwegian Customs Union are now asking the government to step in: Security in the Port of Oslo needs to go up many levels.
– If we are really going to fight drugs, a significant budget increase is needed for the Customs Service, not just for the police. They also need budget funds, but there are more people who have to contribute to the enormous task we have before us. The Port of Oslo receives an enormous amount of goods, and as the situation is now, we cannot do our job properly, says Schaug.
This is what the Customs Agency needs in the Port of Oslo and elsewhere in the country.
- More customs officials
- Money to pay overtime and red days
- Multiple scanners
- Control premises
- Vessel
- Funds for the maintenance of the equipment they have.
Schaug says that the Customs Agency gives high priority to checking goods to Bama, but there is much else that also comes in via the Port of Oslo or the other surrounding ports.
– There is always talk of hard priorities and with the resources we have available, a lot has to give way. We have five scanners for our entire country and we control as much as we can with these.
She continues:
– Unfortunately, 3 of these 5 are soon out of date and so far the agency does not have the funds to replace them or maintain service. In other words, we can go from five to two scanners within a few years.
Gulbrandsen in Bama says that they “get” the responsibility of detecting the cocaine when the Customs Agency does not have enough people and equipment to check what needs to be checked.
– It is a situation that worries us every day. It cannot be the case that it is Bama employees who are to discover cocaine. We expect the authorities to now take action, secure the Port of Oslo, and give more money to the Customs Agency, that is the key to a safer everyday life, she says.
The customs agency has already warned against the situation with the customs officers earlier this year. They have never seized more drugs and weapons than in 2023, they said earlier in 2024. And nothing indicates that the situation is on the road to improvement.
Schaug is clear in his speech, they need money and equipment. The customs agency needs up to 500 new man-years to actually be able to do its job properly.
– We are missing an extremely large amount. This is no longer possible. And if we do not soon receive signals from the government that they see the seriousness we are facing and want to strengthen us, then the Norwegian Customs Authority will start a downsizing and downscaling of this important agency.
She goes on to say that the control ability of the Customs Agency at the Port of Oslo has become significantly worse in recent years. This was due to fewer operational resources and changes to the rotation.
Worried
Gulbrandsen says that Bama is concerned about the safety of their employees after all the record seizures in 2023.
Just over a week ago, NRK was able to report that six criminals were outside the premises of Bama on 29 March. On the same day, Bama and customs officers discovered 712 kilos of cocaine among their bananas.
According to NRK, the police feared that the gang members would enter Bama’s premises.
– The safety of our employees must not be put at risk. Learning that several Swedish criminals were outside the venue that day is terrifying. People who may have a history with weapons and violent crime. This is not the job of banana specialists to handle, it cannot actually be like this, says Gulbrandsen.
– If we had had enough people and equipment, this party could possibly have been discovered already in the harbor of Oslo. Then such a situation would never have arisen, says Schaug in the Tollerforbundet.
Single
Schaug and Gulbrandsen believe that criminal gangs perceive Norway as an easy place to smuggle in drugs and weapons.
Schaug says that at Easter there were several border crossings without customs officials.
– It was almost non-existent in several places in the country. The agency has had to save funds, and then it is done on days that cost more. Like, for example, Easter. It is completely unsustainable. Especially these days. We read all the newspapers every day.
On Monday, Schaug will have a meeting with Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum. Whether she comes out of that meeting with a smile on her face remains to be seen.
