It was on the evening of 20 December that the man had to check in a bag at the airport in Tromsø.
Bjørn Harald Øvervold, who is head of security and environment at Tromsø Airport, says that the security staff discovered the weapon when the bag in question was checked in.
Thus the owner of the bag was summoned.
– What I have been told is that when he was presented with his bag, he took it and disappeared on his way. Soon after, the police were called, says Øvervold.
Looked at x-rays
He points out that it is not illegal to send weapons by air, but that this must be done in a special way. This weapon was not shipped properly.
After the man had run away, the security staff contacted the police.
They made contact with the man and arrested him. In his bag, which he himself handed over to the police, they found a gas pistol.
THE SEARCH CONTINUES: The police in Tromsø have not found the weapon that they suspect the man had in his luggage when he ran away from the airport. Photo: Nils Ole Refvik / TV 2
The finding does not accord well with the explanations of the security staff at the airport, who firmly believe that the gun they saw in the X-rays had a barrel and looked like a revolver.
Defendant: – Worthy of criticism
The man’s defender, lawyer Øyvind Bratlien, reacts strongly to the fact that the security staff did not seize the bag immediately.
– Unfortunately, there was a security breach at the airport which also meant that the evidence was not secured and my client checked out of the case. Both parts are highly objectionable, he says.
DEFENDER: Lawyer Øyvind Bratlien believes his client could have been checked out of the case if the airport personnel had confiscated the luggage. Photo: Daniel Sannum Lauten / TV 2
On Christmas Eve, the accused man was produced for remand in Nord-Troms and Senja District Court. There, the prosecution was successful in its request for two weeks in custody.
– My client pleads not guilty. He obviously wants to be released as soon as possible as innocent, says Bratlien.
The court: “A clear risk”
The accused man did not want to explain himself to the police, according to the detention order from the court.
“The investigation is in an early phase and the police are dependent on carrying out further searches and questioning of people who may be involved in the case in order to find the revolver,” writes the judge.
“As the court sees it, there is a clear risk that the accused, if he is released now, will hide the weapon,” the ruling states.
MEET HERE: At 11 o’clock on Christmas Eve, the man in his 40s had to appear in Nord-Troms and Senja district court. Photo: Rune Stoltz Bertinussen / NTB
When TV 2 contacted the Troms police district on Wednesday, they still had not found the weapon that they believe was originally in the bag.
– How do the police work to find the weapon?
– We cannot comment on this as it could make the investigation more difficult if details about the police’s work on this are revealed, says police inspector Elin Norgård Strand to TV 2.
