Crew member describes panic over amphetamine shipment

A crew member accused in the Dettifoss drug case said he panicked when he received amphetamine base in Bremerhaven, Germany, for transport to Iceland, mbl.is reported. He said he had initially refused to take part in the importation but eventually gave in to pressure.

The testimony was given recently at Reykjavík District Court. The crew members have largely pleaded guilty in the case.

The young man in his twenties said he became alarmed when he was handed the substance in Germany and realised that the shipment was considerably larger than he had been led to believe. He had understood that seven litres of amphetamine base were being transported between the countries.

He said his role was limited to receiving the substance in Germany and hiding it aboard the Dettifoss. “That is where my case ends,” he told the court.

The crew member said he and another accused crew member, who is also his best friend, had met Sævar Hilmarsson at a bar in Kópavogur, where the importation was discussed. They later boarded the Dettifoss that same day.

He said he did not know Hilmarsson or Kastriot Pepaj, who is also accused of organising the importation.

According to his testimony, the crew members received the substance in a 20-kilogram suitcase from people who approached them in a white van. He said he saw four bottles of amphetamine base inside the suitcase and soon realised that the shipment contained more than seven litres.

“I panicked,” the crew member said, adding that there had been little else he could do at that point but take the suitcase aboard.

He also described communications through the Signal messaging application, which had been installed on his phone. The messages involved the crew members, Hilmarsson and a person using the name Cloud.

The crew member said he believed Cloud was Hilmarsson, although he did not know this for certain. The exchanges were in Icelandic. He said he did not recognise Hilmarsson’s voice as Cloud’s when they spoke by telephone, but stressed that he did not know Hilmarsson personally.

He described himself as “terrified, stressed and frightened” before meeting Hilmarsson at the bar in Kópavogur.