– Same risk as buying it in a dark alley – VG
In the last 18 months, more than 50,000 empty glass bottles have been imported to Norway. Customs suspects that these will be used to sell illegal – and potentially dangerous – liquor.
A van registered in Lithuania was stopped on 12 November at Svinesund, at the border with Norway. In the trunk, customs officers found over 1,000 empty glass bottles, and several boxes of corks.
The customs authorities suspect that the bottles will be used for illegal sale of liquor in Norway, as the recipient of the bottles according to them had no logical reason to receive the bottles.
Now they are warning people against buying liquor from illegal outlets. The reason is that the agency’s seizures and intelligence analyzes indicate that large quantities of empty liquor bottles, cartons, labels and corks are imported to Norway.
The Customs Service informs VG that during the last 18 months, more than 50,000 empty liquor bottles have been imported. In addition, smuggling attempts have been uncovered in large quantities.
There are probably large dark numbers when it comes to empty bottles that come in across the border, the Customs Service believes.
Harmful to health
According to the Customs, the packaging of the liquor may be sealed and apparently originate from a well-known brand, and thus appear safe. However, ingesting it can pose a serious health risk.
Øystein Børmer, director of customs, is concerned that many people probably have access to so-called counterfeit spirits, including young people under the age of 20.
– No one must believe that it is safe to buy liquor illegally, even if it looks like original goods in a bottle or carton. It can be the same risk as buying the liquor in a plastic can in a dark alley, he says.
– Our observations show that the criminals now put more effort into the packaging, but it does not change the fact that it poses a serious health risk to drink illegal liquor.
The Norwegian Directorate of Health also strongly advises against consuming liquor that has been sold illegally.
– This alcohol can potentially be extremely dangerous to health. You take a huge risk if you drink alcohol that has been bought illegally, says department director for the living conditions department, Øyvind Giæver.
– Why is this liquor potentially dangerous?
– There is not the same mechanism for quality control for illegal liquor that you buy legally. Alcohol can contain methanol, which is toxic and can cause blindness and, in the worst case, death.
Swedish police have previously warned that young people will stay offered liquor via social media. They are said to have received several reviews from young people who have had vision problems, seizures and difficulty breathing after drinking alcohol from fake liquor bottles mixed with, among other things, methanol.
Got to drive on
Despite the suspicion, the driver of the Lithuanian van could continue into Norway to deliver the goods, as the control did not show any discrepancies between the declaration and the quantity or type of goods.
However, the customs service states that it is very likely that there will be illegal liquor production within Norway’s borders, and that this will probably be bottled on the imported and crumbled bottles and cartons.
– It is also probable that smuggled liquor is also used, which probably crosses the border via large concentrated shipments such as pure alcohol, and which is mixed into spirits in Norway, the Customs Service states.
– Why was it not seized, if it was incorrect about illegal use?
– It is allowed to import empty bottles and cartons, as long as they are cleared through customs, and they do not violate intellectual property rights that are protected in Norway. But those who smuggle this in are breaking the law. If it is discovered that bottles / cartons have been smuggled, these will in the first instance be seized and the case reported to the police.
Seize 980 liters of whiskey
However, it is not only within national borders that illegal alcohol is produced, and due to the corona pandemic and changes in border traffic, there has been an increased focus on uncovering imports of inputs for illegal spirits. On the night of October 21, a seizure was made of 980 liters of alcohol at Åsnes in the Inland.
The driver ran away, but was caught by Swedish police. It turned out that the driver was driving a Swedish-registered van that was equipped with fake Danish signs. In the car, they found 49 cartons of whiskey, which were with fake whiskey labels. This makes the customs authorities suspect that the packaging does not contain real alcohol, but counterfeit whiskey.
Among the counterfeit alcohol products that are imported to Norway, vodka and whiskey are the top list. Most are produced in Eastern Europe. In 2002, it was seized over 5000 liters with counterfeit and potentially dangerous alcohol on its way into the country. The largest seizure was 3880 liters of counterfeit vodka, and the second seizure was 1200 liters of vodka.