Swedish Customs and agency coordinated efforts successful in the fight against organized crime

282 procecuted and 145 imprisoned – these are some of the results that the joint government initiative against organized crime gave in 2020.

It is the highest number of prosecution so far in the work against organized crime since the start of the coordination project in 2009. The results being achieved despite 2020 being a challenging year due to the pandemic.

”We have a central role in fighting organized crime because drug smuggling and drug trafficking are often a basis for criminal activity”, says Charlotte Svensson, Director General of Swedish Customs.

It is a high priority for us to prevent illicit trade and smuggling. The goal is to contribute to a safer society. Since 2009, Swedish Customs and eleven other Swedish authorities have been collaborating with intelligence exchange and operational efforts against criminal individuals, networks and phenomena in an effort against organized crime. The focus is on combating serious and socially threatening organized crime, and against organized crime in the local community with a special focus on vulnerable areas.

During the past year, the authorities have continued to develop crime prevention work, where several authorities in a coordinated work can make a big difference. Continued and developed collaboration with the municipalities will also be a prerequisite for strengthening the capacity in the work against organized crime.

Swedish Customs has annual target goals for the fight against to international cross-border organized crime.

Source: Swedish Customs