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Drug smugglers jailed for ‘record’ Swedish haul

A man was sentenced on Friday to ten years in prison after he was found to be the ringleader in a record drug bust in southern Sweden, with three of his accomplices also jailed.

Published: 5 July 2013 14:17 CEST
Drug smugglers jailed for 'record' Swedish haul

The ringleader, a 41-year-old Swede, was convicted of aggravated drug smuggling after he brought 150 kilogrammes of amphetamine into Helsingborg, southern Sweden.

The haul had been taken by truck from Slovakia, and was seized by police in November last year.

Several of the convicted man’s accomplices were also sentenced, including the driver of the vehicle, who was sent to prison for six years, and another two men who were sentenced to six years and three years respectively.

The police were aware of the men’s activity for a long period of time, and performed a sting operation two days after the amphetamine crossed the Swedish border. The sting was part of a large scale operation involving both Europol and Slovakian police.

The drugs have an estimated street value of 30 million kronor ($4.5 million), and were part of what the Stockholm District Court believed to be a far-reaching international drug network.

The convicted ringleader told the court that he was only part of the operation as he had been threatened by other drug dealers, however the court did not believe his claims. The court pointed to telephone calls as evidence that the man was willingly part of the drug ring.

TT/The Local/og

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DRUG

Danish biotech firm starts human trials for new Covid drug

The Danish biotech company Union Therapeutics has been given the go-ahead to begin clinical trials on humans for its coronavirus medicine which early studies show is more than 40 times more effective than Remdesivir.

Published: 3 July 2020 12:03 CEST
Danish biotech firm starts human trials for new Covid drug
Niclosamide is one of hundreds of promising new drugs. Sorrento Therapeutics in San Diego, California, is working on an antibody drug. Reuters/Scanpix/Bing Guan
Dr Rasmus Toft-Kehler, chief executive and co-founder of the company, credited the “amazing period” that saw the medicine rushed through preliminary trials. 
 
“The team, including all stakeholders, partners… and not least regulatory authorities, have acted with passion and in concert to advance UNI911 at an incredible pace,” he said in a press statement.
 
“We are honoured to be part of this venture and excited to be at the cusp of initiating clinical studies with the ultimate goal of making a differentiated product available for patients in need”.
 
The drug UNI911, or niclosamide, will be tested at the Zelo Phase I Unit at Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hopsital and at the Center for Physical Activity Research at Rigshospitalet. 
 
“It is a drug that can kill the virus and prevent it from dividing inside the body,” Morten Sommer, a professor at DTU Biosustain and the co-founder of Union, told TV2. 
 
“Previously, it has been used to treat bowel diseases such as tapeworms, but we have found out how the drug can come out and work elsewhere in the body.” 
 
 
In studies from South Korea, niclosamide has proven 40 times more potent than the drug Remdesivir, which has otherwise been considered the most effective drug for treating Covid-19.
 
Sommer expects the development of the drug to move into the second phase this autumn. 
 
“It is still early in the process, but we think the characteristic we have seen of the drug seem really promising, and if the results continue to come in, we hope that it has great opportunity to contribute to the treatment of both Covid-19 and also other similar diseases.” 
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