Sweden Jails North Korean Diplomat for Smuggling

A Swedish court has handed eight-month jail sentences to a North Korean diplomat and his wife after they were caught trying to smuggle 230,000 cigarettes into the country.

The diplomat tried to claim diplomatic immunity, but the court found he was not accredited in Sweden, and so the charges were brought forward. According to the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, customs officials discovered the contraband when the couple tried to enter the country by ferry from Finland Nov. 18. The cigarettes were hidden from view under sheets and blankets in the back seat and trunk of their Russian-registered car. The diplomat was assigned to the North Korean Trade Mission in St. Petersburg, Russia. The newspaper did not name the diplomat. At the time of the seizure, the couple said the money from the smuggling would pay for medical treatment for the wife. They later changed the story to say the proceeds would go for humanitarian purposes in North Korea. The court did not believe either story, the media were told.