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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Miranda Bryant in Oslo

Norway’s border guards on front line in battle against ‘cocaine tsunami’

Custom officers Line Andersen and Gard Belgen in the main harbour in Oslo.
Custom officers Line Andersen and Gard Belgen in the main harbour in Oslo. Photograph: Fredrik Naumann/Panos/The Observer

Armed with a powered screwdriver, a crowbar and a handheld scanner, the Norwegian customs officers climbed up a tower of refrigerated containers. With the striking scenery of the Oslofjord behind them and the refrigerator fans whirring, they forced open the back of a sealed banana container from Costa Rica.

“You can get a glimpse of how much space there is inside,” customs officer Gard Belgen told the Observer during a visit to the port last week. Pointing inside the unit holding the fan and cooling vents, he added: “And on top you can fit multiple packages. If you had time to stick them in properly, you could get somewhere between 50 and 70 kilos.”

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