Defendant in case of cocaine seizure at Husnes feels threatened by Italian lawyer – NRK Vestland

– It wasn’t myself I was afraid of, it was my family, said the accused 27-year-old about the time when he was going to trial in Norway.

He is the first to explain himself in the case. One woman and four men from Albania are charged under the so-called mafia section and for having introduced 150 kilos of cocaine to Husnes last year.

A sixth person was also charged, but he was found dead in prison.

This is the first time that cocaine has been seized in Norway under a ship, using the method parasite trafficking. It is also the largest cocaine seizure ever made in Western Norway.

Read how the six managed to get arrested here:

Blood inhibition

The 30-year-old and the 27-year-old explained themselves today. They are accused of participating in planning, receiving diving equipment at Gardermoen, shipping diving equipment to Husnes and receiving the fabric lot at the water’s edge.

The 27-year-old explained in court that in Albanian culture they have a kind of law book, Kanuni in Lekë Dukagjinit, as criminal abusers. According to the 27-year-old, the book also regulates blood inhibition, which makes him afraid to name others. He said that there have been such murders in Albania.

In court, he referred to some of the defendants as “the man” and “woman”.

– Others can explain themselves what they have done. I have said what I have done, that I take responsibility for it, he said.

– A threat

When asked if he was afraid of dragging others into the case, the 30-year-old replied “very scared”.

An Italian lawyer has, via his family in his home country, claimed that he is the defender of three of those who were arrested: the 27-year-old, the 30-year-old and the one who is dead.

This lawyer must have a desire to come to Norway.

This the 30-year-old refused to do. He said he already had a lawyer in Norway.

– For me it was a clear message. It is a threat. There were also unknown persons who threatened my wife, he said in court.

Three defendants contacted

Lawyer Alexander Gonzalo Sele is defending the 30-year-old. He confirms that the client has been afraid to explain himself, and that the family in Albania has been contacted by an Italian lawyer.

– It is of course the backers who own this substance. The defendants feel a responsibility in relation to what they can say, and any reprisals from those behind them, says Sele.

Kai-Inge Gavle is the defense attorney for the 27-year-old and says that he and the defense attorney for the now deceased man have also been contacted by the Italian lawyer.

– This proves that there are strong forces. It is presumably, as the other defendant explained today, a hint that one should be careful about what one explains about, said Gavle.

One acknowledges, one ignorant

The 27-year-old has denied criminal liability. He says he only found out during a police interview that it was drugs they picked up. He reacted to them talking about there being 150 kilos of cocaine in the bags.

– They were heavy, as if there were stones inside. If I had been asked about my weight, I could have said 600 kilossaid the 27-year-old.

He says he came to Norway for what he thought was a job in the construction industry. In the past, he has been involved in flooring, plastering and measuring.

He was to receive 20,000-25,000 euros for the job, and this was something that would take time. He believes he was tricked, and that he was initially only supposed to be in Norway for a few days.

– It was said that for the three days I would see the extent of the work. This job could perhaps take two or three months, said the 27-year-old.

The 30-year-old admits criminal guilt after the indictment. He knew it was about transporting cocaine and that it came from Brazil. He was to receive 20,000 euros for a transport job. From this sum, 3,000 euros were to be deducted because he was in debt.

– My job was to put the bags in the car, he said.

Read about how the defendants worked to get the cocaine to Norway here:

Claim not to know each other

The five defendants came to Norway in cars and by plane. A person who has not been charged brought two underwater scooters to Larvik.

This equipment was placed in rental cars at Gardermoen.

The 27-year-old was the driver of one of two rental cars from Gardermoen to Husnes. He also met, together with the 30-year-old, the accused 26-year-old at a petrol station before the dive at Husnes.

The 27-year-old and the 30-year-old claim that they do not know the 26-year-old beyond this, but that they talked about collecting bags.

Two other defendants also used the time before the dive to buy more diving equipment in Bergen.

After the arrest, the police found a total of eight phones distributed among six people. The accused used these for encrypted communication on the apps Signal and Session.

The trial against the five Albanian defendants started in Hordaland District Court on 7 May and has seen at least ten days in court.