Defence challenges evidence in Dettifoss drug case

Defence lawyer Stefán Karl Kristjánsson argued in Reykjavik District Court on Friday that the police investigation into the Dettifoss drug case was inadequate and that prosecutors had not proved Sævar Arnar Hilmarsson was involved in importing amphetamine base transported to Iceland aboard the ship Dettifoss in April, mbl.is reported.

Stefán called for Sævar to be acquitted of the importation charge and for the lightest possible sentence on the other charges.

He criticised the way evidence had been submitted, saying the defence had not received all the case materials and that documents had been selected and compiled in a way that prevented a complete overview of the investigation.

Stefán particularly pointed to the absence of some phone records. Prosecutors have referred to a phone found at Sævar’s home, which police believe was connected to the Signal account Cloud. Stefán said no biological samples had been taken from the phone to link it to Sævar.

He also raised uncertainty about the size of the bottles used to transport the substance. One crew member said there had been three three-litre bottles and one one-litre bottle, or about 10 litres in total, but acknowledged that the measurements were an estimate.

Police photographs, however, show three larger bottles labelled as holding 4.5 litres. Stefán brought a three-litre Carlsberg bottle into the courtroom to demonstrate its size, arguing that a 4.5-litre bottle would be considerably larger.

The bottle-size dispute has been prominent in the case, including after Stefán questioned whether 14 litres could fit into bottles with a combined capacity of about 10 litres.

Stefán also said the crew members had described the bottles differently from those shown in the police photographs. They had said the bottles were clear and unmarked when they received them in Germany, while the photographs showed a yellowish liquid and Absolut labels.

He said nothing in the crew members’ communications showed that they had received direct instructions from Sævar to transport the substance. Nor had it emerged where it was supposed to be taken after arriving in Iceland or where it was to be handed over.

Prosecutors have requested sentences of eight and a half years for Sævar and Kastriot Pepaj over their alleged involvement in the Dettifoss case.