Five sentenced over drug import in motorhome

Two Icelanders and three Dutch nationals have been sentenced for serious drug offences after arranging the import of narcotics into Iceland in a motorhome, mbl.is reported. The drugs included more than 10.5 kilograms of amphetamine and nearly two kilograms of cocaine.

The two Icelanders, Kristinn Hólm Runólfsson and Kristinn Már Viðarsson, were each sentenced to six years in prison. Kishan Mohabier-Panday received four years and six months, while Sandeep Kamal Singh and Mahesh Odeai were each sentenced to four years. Time spent in custody since May 30 will be deducted from all five sentences.

The drugs were hidden in a false battery compartment beneath a bed in the motorhome. The three Dutch nationals travelled on the passenger ferry Norröna from Hirtshals in Denmark to Seyðisfjörður on May 27. Two of them drove the vehicle to a campsite in Laugardalur, Reykjavík, where they and the third man were later arrested.

The Icelanders arranged the import with associates in the Netherlands and recruited the three Dutch nationals to transport the drugs. A police report and an assessment by the University of Iceland identified 10,546.15 grams of amphetamine with a purity of 59 to 65 per cent, and 1,989.83 grams of cocaine with a purity of 86 per cent.

The main hearing took place on October 8 and 9 at Reykjavík District Court. During the summer, authorities considered whether the case was connected to the Straumsvík case, in which nine people have been charged with organised criminal activity and serious drug offences.