Five defendants in extensive drug case in Western Norway

The five must appear in Hordaland district court at the end of October. According to the prosecutor’s office, the five men must have had roles in a network that supplied the western country with hashish, write the newspaper.

One of the five is accused of having smuggled in well over 500 kilograms of hashish, while two others are said to have been involved with this lot. According to the indictment, a Lithuanian man is said to have smuggled more than 200 kilos with a sports plane from Denmark to Tønsberg.

All five risk at least three years in prison, writes BT.

The prosecution believes the case concerns a network with ties to foreign countries. State prosecutor Kristine Herrebrøden tells BT that the prosecution in the trial will prove that it is an organized network.

– We believe there are also other behind it, an apparatus abroad. In court, it will be explained what we think we know about it, she tells BT.

Lawyer Rune Håkon Tjomsland is defending a man who owns a farm where the police found 94 kilos of buried hashish. The man denies involvement with the party, and the defense attorney tells BT that he denies criminal guilt.

Lawyer Arvid Sjødin defends another of the five. His client has acknowledged the facts, but Sjødin says he believes there are circumstances which indicate that he cannot be considered guilty of some of the prosecution’s claims.