Police and Customs have a good grip on the big smuggling cases
Trucks seized in Helsingør with 7200 bottles of Russian vodka Very fast Motor Yacht found at Skælskør with 800,000 cigarettes
(From our Copenhagen editorial staff)
Police where customs have come a long way in the unravelling of two major smuggling organizations, each of which in its own way seems to have evaded quite a few countries' treasuries with quite substantial amounts. 7200 bottles of vodka and 30,000 cigarettes were seized in a Finnish truck train in Helsingør, and 800,000 cigarettes were seized in a specially built Motor Yacht in Skælskør Fjord. While the discovery in Helsingør in particular is the Finnish authorities who have reason to feel satisfied, since the goods were to be sold on the other side of the Gulf of Bothnia, the case from Skælskør by the police is calculated as Denmark's largest smuggling case to date. In the case from Skælskør, the 53-year-old former East spy and professional smuggler Fritz Nielsen was arrested and fabricated and imprisoned in a closed constitutional hearing on Sunday. At the same time, the court issued a warrant for the arrest of 59-year-old Carl Emanuel Petersen, Præstø, who is also known as a big smuggler. Pedersen disappeared from the customs after the engine yacht was brought up. It is believed to be facing the unraveling of perhaps the largest organization so far in Denmark with a broadly branched customer network in Copenhagen. At the same time, the National Police Intelligence Service was linked to the investigations because of Fritz Nielsen and Carl Emanuel Petersen's past as spies for East Germany. Here the smuggling goods have been purchased.
The fast Yacht specially equipped
Maritime experts have examined the obvious Motor Yacht. It does not bear any name or nationality mark. It is a very expensive Yacht with efficient navigation equipment. The engine power consists of two six-cylinder engines. That is, the vessel can shoot at a speed of about 80 kilometers per hour. The Yacht has been rebuilt to carry large loads. The Customs Intelligence Service has not yet identified the yacht. With its extras, it's worth about a quarter of a million dollars. The vessel has probably been fitted with the large engines and rebuilt at a foreign shipyard. Both police and customs investigations are dark. As far as we know, Fritz Nielsen and a number of other convicted smugglers have been in the spotlight in recent years. The Customs Service knew that almost every week large land settlements took place on the Danish coasts of spirits, cigarettes and other highly taxed goods.
Customs was lying down
The tollmen lay down or patroled the coastal stretches between Copenhagen and Helsingør, but in vain. The Customs Search Service received a tip and the entire patrol service was concentrated in the Great Belt. Only after several weeks of guard duty did the smugglers enter the net. If the police and customs manage to jump the smuggler league, dozens of arrests can be expected from the other smugglers, their backers and moneyers as well as the main customers. In addition, the smaller customers, probably hundreds more, will be charged with a disclosure of the violation is the Customs Act. Several restaurateurs are believed to be among the customers. Fritz Nielsen must be described as Denmark's biggest smuggler. He had been in the spotlight numerous times when in 1959 he was arrested in Køge as one of the chiefs of the Køge Bay gang. His smuggling goods were purchased in East Germany. In order to be allowed to export cigarettes and spirits from the eastern zone, he had to promise the East German espionage service to obtain information about NATO in Denmark. On August 27, 1960, in the Supreme Court, Fritz Nielsen was sentenced to two years in prison for having spies in favor of East Germany.
Telegraphic tip from West German customs officers
The smuggling case in Helsingør came on track after a telegraphic tip from West German customs officials. The lorry train came from West Germany, where the smuggling goods had been loaded. The 7200 bottles of Russian vodka, representing a tax value of half a mill. DKK 30,000, and the 30,000 unwrapped cigarettes lay between 125 sewing machines and 27 bales of carpet. The Finnish drivers refuse any knowledge and are today being prepared for a constitutional hearing. The unveiling happened just as the lorry train was to board the ferry. It entered the telegram. Both the head and the trailer were emptied, and nicely stowed in between sewing machines and blankets was bottles and cigarettes. The driver said he was very amazed. Others must have smuggled the goods in while he was sleeping in a German motel.
The truck train will probably be sold
The police do not believe the explanation. The driver is believed to be employees of a well-integrated smuggling organization. The same lorry train was also stopped a year ago when it carried 800,000 unmanned cigarettes seized by the Swedish customs. The Customs Service has withheld the lorry train required by the Finnish freight forwarding company. It is estimated at DKK 100,000, which will reportedly be sold at auction to cover the tax payment for the smuggled goods.