In 2023, record-breaking cocaine seizures have been made in the Port of Helsingborg, which has consolidated the port as a gateway for narcotics not only to Sweden but to the whole of Europe.

Last autumn, a port employee was also detained on suspicion of drug smuggling that is suspected to have taken place in 2020 and last year.

Now the Port of Helsingborg wants the container and energy terminal to become a protected object and the board has decided to submit an application to the county administrative board for this.

"We are doing this to increase safety. We will have an increased toolbox where we can, for example, conduct body searches, check equipment and have security guards who can monitor the port," says Bart Steijaert, CEO of the Port of Helsingborg.

Provides higher penalties in the event of a burglary

If the port becomes a protected object, it provides increased legal protection against sabotage, terrorism, robbery and spies, writes the Port of Helsingborg in a press release. It also means that the penalty is higher for those who enter the area illegally.

Why didn't you apply for this earlier?

"It is the seizures during the year and the increasing threat that have led us to take the step to apply for it. We have made the assessment in the past that it was not necessary," says Bart Steijaer.

Could be camera surveillance

If the application is approved, the Port of Helsingborg will invest in, among other things, camera surveillance, access systems and signs.

When this will be ready in time, the port cannot answer.

"We hope to do this as soon as possible," says Bart Steijaert.

During a press conference in May this year, Swedish Customs announced that 1.3 tonnes of cocaine have been seized in the Port of Helsingborg since September last year – hear more in the clip below.

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Lack of security in the Port of Helsingborg is one of the reasons why the port has become a gateway of cocaine to Europe – hear the prosecutor and the port's head of security in the clip above. Photo: SVT/Tullverket