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Four indicted after major weapons seizure

Four people have been indicted in Malmö on gun-running charges following the seizure last autumn of a major consignment of weapons.

Published: 22 January 2008 14:18 CET

Customs officials in Malmö found 40 semi-automatic weapons concealed in the seats of a car on October 10th last year.

The driver of the vehicle was pulled over after customs officials noticed him behaving in a nervous manner when crossing the border from Denmark to Sweden.

One of the driver’s two passengers was also arrested. A woman travelling in the car was released almost immediately.

A criminal investigation conducted by the customs authorities also led to the identification of two further suspects.

“Cooperation on the international and national levels has worked extremely well,” said Rolf Bårdskär, head of Swedish Customs’ investigative division.

The customs authority has described the haul as one of the largest weapons seizures ever made in Europe.

The four suspects, each with addresses in southern Sweden, have been indicted on arms trafficking charges.

Both men arrested at the Lernacken border station in Malmö admit to smuggling Beretta and Zastava weapons from Kosovo to Sweden. The two suspects arrested later deny committing an offence.

Malmö to bring in reinforcements from Norway and Denmark ahead of Eurovision

Authorities vowed “visible” measures including police with submachine guns and reinforcements from Denmark and Norway around the event, ending with the final on May 11th.

Normally associated with rhinestones and kitsch, this year the competition has become a more controversial affair as critics have called for Israel to be banned from competing, with the war in Gaza entering its seventh month.

Sweden’s third largest city, Malmö is home to over 360,000 inhabitants spanning 186 nationalities, and a large part of the country’s population is of Palestinian origin.

At least half a dozen applications have been filed for demonstration permits to protest the Israeli presence at the competition, which is organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) together with Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT.

City authorities say the situation is under control.

“For the various events linked to Eurovision, security measures will be clearly visible,” the city’s security director, Per-Erik Ebbestahl, told a press conference.

Security checks will be stepped up, in particular for access to the various sites, where bags will mostly be prohibited, he said.

The police presence will also be strengthened, with reinforcements coming from Norway and Denmark, and officers will be more heavily armed than normal.

“There will be a lot of police in Malmö this time, with their usual armament, but also with heavier weapons” including submachine guns, said Petra Stenkula, chief of Malmö police.

“We are not used to seeing them in Sweden and Malmö,” Stenkula said.

The executive producer of the event for SVT, Ebba Adielsson, told AFP the security plan was “extremely stable”.

“Now what scares me the most is that people are too afraid” to participate in the event, she continued.

More than 100,000 visitors are expected to come to Malmö in the week leading up to the event.

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