Oslo - A former senior Norwegian police
officer was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Monday for aiding
drug smugglers and taking bribes in a case that captivated a
nation accustomed to clean law enforcement.
Eirik Jensen, 60, now retired, was once in charge of
combating Oslo's criminal gangs. He had denied the accusations
against him and his lawyer said he would appeal.
Prosecutors accused Jensen of aiding a smuggling ring for
more than a decade by providing information on police and
customs staffing, much of it via hundreds of cryptic mobile
phone text messages, in return for illegal payments.
Jensen's co-defendant Gjermund Cappelen, who admitted
organising the imports of tonnes of hashish, was the
prosecution's key witness and was sentenced to 15 years in
prison.
"This case is unique in Norwegian legal history," Oslo
District Court Judge Kim Heger said as he read the unanimous
verdict against the police officer.
"Jensen has actively and deliberately contributed to a
well-organised and extensive import of hashish," he said.
Jensen and his lawyers argued during the trial that the
evidence of contact with criminals was merely a result of normal
police work intended to extract information and that he had not
received any money or gifts.
"We lost the battle, but we hope to win the war," Jensen's
attorney John Christian Elden told reporters after the verdict
was made public. "There will be an appeal."
Such cases are rare in Norway, ranked the world's
sixth-least corrupt country by watchdog Transparency
International, and this case generated vast media coverage,
including an unusual live television broadcast of parts of the
trial.
In neighbouring Finland, also among the least corrupt
nations, the former head of Helsinki's drug squad was sentenced
last year to 10 years in prison for drug smuggling, official
misconduct and other crimes, including tampering with evidence.
That case is the subject of an appeal.