Police officer refuses to answer question in Dettifoss drug case

mbl.is reports that a police officer from the police technical division refused to answer whether 14 litres of liquid could fit into bottles with a combined capacity of about 10 litres during the main hearing in the Dettifoss case.

The officer testified on Thursday about the investigation of liquid found in four Absolut vodka bottles aboard the Dettifoss. He said he received the material from the police central division. The bottles consisted of three larger bottles and one smaller bottle, as he recalled, and photographs were taken when they arrived at the technical division.

The division’s records contain three photographs of the material. The officer said that was a normal number of photographs for such an investigation.

Stefán Karl Kristjánsson, lawyer for Sævar Arnar Hilmarsson, asked whether it was possible to put 14 litres of liquid into bottles that held about 10 litres in total.

“Can I put 14 litres into bottles that hold 10 litres?” Stefán Karl asked.

“I am in no way going to answer that,” the officer replied.

The question relates to an issue raised during the hearing. Prosecutors claim that 14,100 millilitres of amphetamine base were transported from Germany to Iceland. According to the indictment, the substance was concealed in four Absolut vodka bottles in a bag aboard the Dettifoss.

Questions have nevertheless been raised about the bottles’ actual capacity. It has been suggested that their combined capacity may have been closer to 10 litres than 14 litres. Another crew member testified on Wednesday that they may have been three three-litre bottles and one one-litre bottle, while saying he was not certain of their size.

Two other police officers also testified on Thursday. Both had taken part in a search of Sævar Hilmarsson’s home. One described weapons and medication being found throughout the house, including batons with flashlights, knuckle dusters and knives.

One of the officers said he knew Sævar through his police work, particularly because Sævar had lost his driving licence but continued driving, as well as through other cases involving him. The officer agreed that it had been the correct decision to send a special police unit to Sævar’s home after his arrest.