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Of: TT
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Photo: Jessica Gow / TT
STOCKHOLM 20200921 Minister of Finance Magdalena Andersson (S). Stock Photography.
The government wants to give customs more powers to intervene in criminal suspicions at the border.
The authority welcomes the change, but sees an even greater risk of confusion in legislation that is already strict.
Under current law, Swedish Customs can only intervene against an alleged crime in cases where the authority has the authority to investigate the crime, for example by smuggling drugs, weapons or explosive products.
In case of suspicion of, for example, trafficking in persons or stolen goods that are about to be removed from the country, customs officials do not have the authority to intervene.
A proposal from the Finance Ministry, which was sent for consultation on Friday, proposes an amendment to the Smuggling Law, which means that customs intervention will be allowed in case of suspicion of all kinds of crimes. As a general rule, this should only take place after approval from the police.
– This gives Swedish Customs sharper tools in the fight against theft leagues, says Finance Minister Magdalena Andersson (S).
Boat engine theft
The background is, among other things, that international robbery leagues account for a large share of robberies in Sweden, according to the government.
– If, for example, there is a boat engine van for which you do not have a receipt, the Swedish Customs will now have the opportunity to keep it for the police to take care of it, says Magdalena Andersson.
– In the past, it was possible to hold them for a while, but if the police have not gotten there, they must be released when the ferry leaves.
But according to Karin Erlingsson, head of law at Swedish Customs, this has not been a major concern for customs.
– The image is that most of the times we have contacted the police, they also have time to come, he says.
Application review
However, the Swedish Customs will receive these new powers.
– We think it is a completely reasonable new authority. But we must analyze the proposal in detail.
Customs Director General Charlotte Svensson recently wrote in DN Debatt that it is important for the authority to have a comprehensive review of the legislation as it is difficult to interpret and out of date.
According to Karin Erlingsson, the proposal now under discussion may lead to an even narrower mindset.
– This means that additional provisions are included in the Contraband Law, which is already quite difficult legislation to interpret, and this makes the law even more difficult to understand, he says.
– This makes the need for this important revision even more difficult.
The proposal is in consultation until December 18. The changes are proposed to take effect on July 1 of next year.
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