According to a newly published report from the National Commissioner of the Police on organized crime in Iceland there are clear signs domestic manufacturing of drugs is on the rise. The manufacturing of amphetamine and related substances are increasingly produced domestically, while cannabis consumption is met entirely by domestic production. The report states that police has seen evidence Icelandic cannabis manufacturers are even looking at exporting their products.
A dynamic growth industry
The report describes a well-organized large scale industry which is cultivating growing demand, while at the same responding to law enforcement efforts to curb its growth. Production of cannabis has been decentralized, as more and smaller production units have been set up, both to avoid detection, as well as to lower the risks involved for those who are responsible.
Read more: Do Icelanders really smoke more cannabis than anyone else?
As sentences in cases involving the cultivation of cannabis take into account the number of plants and the scale of the production the number of plants in each growth seem to be controlled by those responsible. Police suspects these operations are centrally organized by a small number of syndicates, as the set-up of plants, equipment and other characteristics of small scale production units tend to be the same.
Strong suspicion manufacturers are looking at exporting cannabis
At the same time cannabis manufacturers appear to have been moving their operations out of Reykjavík and the capital region, into both the countryside and smaller villages around Iceland, presumably in an effort to evade detection by better equipped police forces.
Both quantity and quality of domestic production has grown dramatically in the past years, according to Police. The domestic market is supplied entirely by domestic production, and police has strong suspicion manufacturers are preparing exports. These suspicions have not yet been proven.
Operations organized by “untouchables”
Police has strong suspicion that the operations are organized centrally by a relatively small group of criminals. Some of these are described as “foreign in origin” in the report. Despite such suspicions police has had trouble apprehending the organizers.
The reason, Ásgeir Karlsson at the National Security Unit of the National Commissioner of Police told local news site visir.is, is quite simple. Police must have reasonable suspicion, based on evidence, that an individual is party to a specific crime to be arrested.
In cases involving large cannabis manufacturing the production is organized from the beginning with one of those involved committed to acting as a fall guy, confessing to everything if the production is discovered. In these cases, he argues, it is frequently very difficult to pursue the investigation any further. Vísir.is describes these masterminds as “The untouchables of Icelandic Cannabis production.”
According to a newly published report from the National Commissioner of the Police on organized crime in Iceland there are clear signs domestic manufacturing of drugs is on the rise. The manufacturing of amphetamine and related substances are increasingly produced domestically, while cannabis consumption is met entirely by domestic production. The report states that police has seen evidence Icelandic cannabis manufacturers are even looking at exporting their products.
A dynamic growth industry
The report describes a well-organized large scale industry which is cultivating growing demand, while at the same responding to law enforcement efforts to curb its growth. Production of cannabis has been decentralized, as more and smaller production units have been set up, both to avoid detection, as well as to lower the risks involved for those who are responsible.
Read more: Do Icelanders really smoke more cannabis than anyone else?
As sentences in cases involving the cultivation of cannabis take into account the number of plants and the scale of the production the number of plants in each growth seem to be controlled by those responsible. Police suspects these operations are centrally organized by a small number of syndicates, as the set-up of plants, equipment and other characteristics of small scale production units tend to be the same.
Strong suspicion manufacturers are looking at exporting cannabis
At the same time cannabis manufacturers appear to have been moving their operations out of Reykjavík and the capital region, into both the countryside and smaller villages around Iceland, presumably in an effort to evade detection by better equipped police forces.
Both quantity and quality of domestic production has grown dramatically in the past years, according to Police. The domestic market is supplied entirely by domestic production, and police has strong suspicion manufacturers are preparing exports. These suspicions have not yet been proven.
Operations organized by “untouchables”
Police has strong suspicion that the operations are organized centrally by a relatively small group of criminals. Some of these are described as “foreign in origin” in the report. Despite such suspicions police has had trouble apprehending the organizers.
The reason, Ásgeir Karlsson at the National Security Unit of the National Commissioner of Police told local news site visir.is, is quite simple. Police must have reasonable suspicion, based on evidence, that an individual is party to a specific crime to be arrested.
In cases involving large cannabis manufacturing the production is organized from the beginning with one of those involved committed to acting as a fall guy, confessing to everything if the production is discovered. In these cases, he argues, it is frequently very difficult to pursue the investigation any further. Vísir.is describes these masterminds as “The untouchables of Icelandic Cannabis production.”
