Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STOCKHOLM746
2009-11-27 11:09:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Stockholm
Cable title:
TWO DPRK DIPLOMATS ARRESTED IN SWEDEN FOR SMUGGLING
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UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000746
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL SW
SUBJECT: TWO DPRK DIPLOMATS ARRESTED IN SWEDEN FOR SMUGGLING
UNCLAS STOCKHOLM 000746
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL SW
SUBJECT: TWO DPRK DIPLOMATS ARRESTED IN SWEDEN FOR SMUGGLING
1. On November 20, all Swedish media reported that two North Korean
diplomats - a man and a woman in their fifties - were arrested by
Swedish customs officers for attempting to smuggle 230,000
cigarettes by ferry from Mariehamn, Finland. The couple protested
and tried to claim diplomatic immunity, but both were accredited to
Russia, not Sweden. They were taken into custody in Stockholm.
Legal proceedings are scheduled to start before November 27.
Smuggling crimes can carry penalties of six months to six years in
prison.
2. A contact at the Swedish Customs told Post FSN that the
cigarettes were packaged as the American brand "L&M," the red
package (full flavored),with Russian warning text. L&M are
produced by the Virginia-based Altria Group, Inc. (formerly Philip
Morris Companies, Inc.). There is no information available to Post
as to whether the cigarettes are real or counterfeit.
3. The DPRK Embassy in Stockholm denies any knowledge of the
incident. However, the tabloid "Expressen" reported that two
representatives from the DPRK Embassy, a man and a woman, visited
the arrested couple on November 19. The man became upset when the
tabloid photographer took his picture.
4. POST NOTE: DPRK diplomats have been involved in smuggling in
Sweden before. In 1976, North Korea's ambassador was declared
"persona non grata" along with six other diplomats.
BARZUN
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL SW
SUBJECT: TWO DPRK DIPLOMATS ARRESTED IN SWEDEN FOR SMUGGLING
1. On November 20, all Swedish media reported that two North Korean
diplomats - a man and a woman in their fifties - were arrested by
Swedish customs officers for attempting to smuggle 230,000
cigarettes by ferry from Mariehamn, Finland. The couple protested
and tried to claim diplomatic immunity, but both were accredited to
Russia, not Sweden. They were taken into custody in Stockholm.
Legal proceedings are scheduled to start before November 27.
Smuggling crimes can carry penalties of six months to six years in
prison.
2. A contact at the Swedish Customs told Post FSN that the
cigarettes were packaged as the American brand "L&M," the red
package (full flavored),with Russian warning text. L&M are
produced by the Virginia-based Altria Group, Inc. (formerly Philip
Morris Companies, Inc.). There is no information available to Post
as to whether the cigarettes are real or counterfeit.
3. The DPRK Embassy in Stockholm denies any knowledge of the
incident. However, the tabloid "Expressen" reported that two
representatives from the DPRK Embassy, a man and a woman, visited
the arrested couple on November 19. The man became upset when the
tabloid photographer took his picture.
4. POST NOTE: DPRK diplomats have been involved in smuggling in
Sweden before. In 1976, North Korea's ambassador was declared
"persona non grata" along with six other diplomats.
BARZUN