Customs seize massive stash of illegal benzodiazepine pills at Ørje border crossing

Customs personnel at Ørje border stopped a Norwegian-registered rental car traveling along the E18 and found two large sacks of illicit benzodiazepine tablets concealed on pallets. The pills, identified as Rivotril and Bensedin, were seized and the Slovene occupants were taken into custody. The previous day, a similar operation at Svinesund uncovered boxes of the same substances plus Ksalol in another Norwegian-registered vehicle, leading to the arrest of a Romanian driver.

Henning André Lilleng, area manager for the customs authority, said the agency has confiscated over a million benzodiazepine pills this year, roughly equal to the previous record year, and warned that demand for these drugs appears high. He emphasized the health risks of unregulated consumption and the role of such seizures in disrupting organized crime networks. Police prosecutor Anders Johnsen Bækkemoen indicated that investigations are ongoing and that the two incidents may be linked, though no definitive connection has been established.