A Swedish court on Monday sentenced 11 people over the country’s biggest-ever cocaine bust.
In April 2024, authorities seized 1.3 tonnes of cocaine hidden in a shipping container at the port of Norvik, just south of Stockholm. The drugs had an estimated street value of $126 million.
A total of 17 people were charged in connection with the case. The district court in Södertörn, also south of the capital, found 11 guilty of drug-related offences, while six were acquitted.
One of those convicted, a 25-year-old man, was also found guilty of attempted murder and of involving a minor in crime. He was sentenced to 16 years and 10 months in prison.
Prosecutors said the case was linked to the Rumba gang, one of Sweden’s largest criminal organisations. Last week, Turkish authorities arrested the group’s alleged leader, 35-year-old Ismail Abdo.
According to Sweden’s customs agency, the seizure beat the country’s previous record from 2006—both in quantity and in the purity of the cocaine. Last week, Turkish authorities arrested the group’s alleged leader, 35-year-old Ismail Abdo.
