Sweden seeks 2 Britons to garlic smuggling

Stockholm (AP)-Swedish prosecutors have issued international arrest warrants for two Britons suspected of masterminding a smuggling ring involving Chinese garlic.

The men shipped before the garlic in Norway by boat, where he entered the country tax free because it was deemed to be in transit, prosecutor Thomas Ahlstrand said Wednesday. They then drove the large shipments of garlic at the Norwegian-Swedish border, avoiding customs controls and thus Swedish import duties.

Ahlstrand said the men avoided paying some £ 10 million ($ 13.1 million) in taxes in Sweden with the scheme, which took place in 2009 and in 2010. A long police investigation led to the identification of two Britons.

Ahlstrand said initially they smuggled in 1.2 tons of garlic, but later said the exact amount was unclear.

It wasn't the first time smugglers have shown a preference for garlic from China, representing about 80% of world production and is often considerably cheaper than local varieties.

In 2010, the Polish authorities seized six containers with 144 tons of Chinese garlic that had been smuggled into the country through the Netherlands.

Was not immediately clear whether Polish smuggling was linked to Sweden.

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