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

The nordic nation has become a gateway to Europe for South American drug traffickers

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."