In one of the most extensive police operations in the history of Iceland, officials from the Icelandic police and Europol seized 56 kilos of amphetamines from a vessel in the harbour of Fáskrúdsfjördur on September 20th.
One news source reported that five citizens of Iceland were arrested in conjunction with the drug confiscation.
According to Björn Bjarnason, Iceland’s Minister of Justice, the size and scale of the operation strongly suggests more supervision of transportation to and from Iceland is required.
One of the most important factors behind the operation’s success, according to Bjarnason, was coordination between the two police forces. The operation included members of Iceland’s special forces, the Coast Guard and the capital region police’s drug department. The investigation was code named “Polar Star.”
Haraldur Johannessen, the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police expressed his satisfaction with the investigation and arrests. “It was very well organised and I think everyone connected to the vessel walked straight into the arms of the police and were taken by surprise,” he said.
“We have upheld a state of confidentiality within the police for a very long time, which shows that Icelandic police institutions are capable of organising such extensive projects, which stretch into the international community, without leaking information,” Johannessen concluded.