In Norwegian newspapers, Tuesday's coordinated raids in Agder are described as the largest of their kind ever in the county. According to the newspaper Fædrelandsvennen, between 50 and 100 police officers participated.
The arrested are believed to be part of, or connected to, organized criminal networks and are suspected of serious drug offenses.
According to prosecutor Terje Skaar, weapons, cash, and a "not insignificant" amount of narcotics were seized during the operation.
All 19 arrested are men over 18, reports NRK. Twelve of them have been requested to be detained.
Further arrests cannot be ruled out, says the police at a press conference. They claim to have knowledge of 25 organized criminal gangs in Agder.
Many are linked to the import and sale of large quantities of narcotics. We also have networks involved in arms trafficking, pimping, human smuggling, work-related crime, and serious economic crime, says investigation leader Torgeir Winsnes during the press conference.
Some networks appear more organized than others.
According to Winsnes, several of the networks have connections to other countries, including Sweden.
There are actors with ties to Sweden. But we currently have no reason to believe that yesterday's action has any connection to Sweden, says Torgeir Winsnes to TT.
Correction: In an earlier version, there were inaccuracies about the arrested individuals' connections to Sweden. None of the arrested have known connections to Sweden at present.
