A Swedish man has been arrested in the US on suspicion of being part of a major cocaine smuggling ring. The 47-year-old, who has not been named, is accused of planning to hide 12 kilos of the class-A drug in car interiors before shipping them to Sweden.
The man, who owns a car firm in Florida, was arrested in a joint sting between Swedish and Danish police as well as US federal narcotics officers. An additional three men were also taken into custody in Sweden for their part in the alleged plot.
Ten kilos of cocaine was found hidden in the door panel of a Lincoln and a further two kg was discovered in a Ford Explorer when police raided the man’s show room earlier this week. According to Expressen, which broke the story, he had been under long-term surveillance by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
The cars were due to be shipped to Gothenburg, according to the newspaper’s source, and a further kilo was found on the man’s person at the time of the arrest. The accused has not yet made contact with the Swedish embassy in Washington DC or the foreign ministry, reports The Local.