Norway targets Baltic-bound bootleg diapers
The Local Norway - [email protected]
Published: 24 May, 2012 CET.
Updated: Thu 24 May 2012 09:33 CET
Norwegian customs are working to stop a gang of Lithuanian smugglers from ferrying cheap nappies bought at a discount in Norway for resale at a mark up in eastern Europe.
While Norway is generally known for high-priced consumer goods, when it comes to diapers, the country fares well compared to its Scandinavian and Baltic neighbours.
In Norway, a pack of diapers costs around 20 kroner ($3.50). In Lithuania, on the other hand, a pack of new nappies can set parents back 100-120 kroner, according to a report in the Swedish Aftonbladet daily.
But a group of enterprising smugglers believed to be based in Lithuania have made a concerted effort to exploit the sizeable price differential by transporting thousands of diapers from Norway through Sweden en route to points of sale in eastern Europe.
"We think it's an organized operation," Norwegian customs official Bjørn Sørli told the newspaper. "Sweden is a transit country for this operation."
In April, Norwegian customs stopped two suspected nappy smugglers in Trøndelag, a region in north central Norway which borders the Swedish county of Jämtland.
The two were found to be transporting diapers worth some 44,000 kroner and lacking the proper documents for importing the items into the European Union.
And just last Saturday, a truck was stopped near the Swedish border carrying a load of diapers with an estimated street value of more than 165,000 kroner reportedly purchased at a discount shopping centre in Norway and believed to be destined for Lithuania.
"Someone is earning good money doing this, The drivers have a shopping list with them when they come to Norway and buy what's been ordered," Sørli told Aftonbladet.
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While Norway is generally known for high-priced consumer goods, when it comes to diapers, the country fares well compared to its Scandinavian and Baltic neighbours.
In Norway, a pack of diapers costs around 20 kroner ($3.50). In Lithuania, on the other hand, a pack of new nappies can set parents back 100-120 kroner, according to a report in the Swedish Aftonbladet daily.
But a group of enterprising smugglers believed to be based in Lithuania have made a concerted effort to exploit the sizeable price differential by transporting thousands of diapers from Norway through Sweden en route to points of sale in eastern Europe.
"We think it's an organized operation," Norwegian customs official Bjørn Sørli told the newspaper. "Sweden is a transit country for this operation."
In April, Norwegian customs stopped two suspected nappy smugglers in Trøndelag, a region in north central Norway which borders the Swedish county of Jämtland.
The two were found to be transporting diapers worth some 44,000 kroner and lacking the proper documents for importing the items into the European Union.
And just last Saturday, a truck was stopped near the Swedish border carrying a load of diapers with an estimated street value of more than 165,000 kroner reportedly purchased at a discount shopping centre in Norway and believed to be destined for Lithuania.
"Someone is earning good money doing this, The drivers have a shopping list with them when they come to Norway and buy what's been ordered," Sørli told Aftonbladet.
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