Nineteen individuals detained in Suðurnes region amid drug and immigration investigations

Nineteen individuals are currently in police custody in the Suðurnes region, where the pressure on the authorities is substantial. However, the police station lacks a functional detention facility.

The detained individuals are primarily held due to operations conducted at Keflavik International Airport. Eleven of them face charges related to the importation of illegal drugs, while others are under suspicion for violations of immigration laws and human trafficking. Among the group, one is Icelandic, while the others hail from Ghana, Egypt, France, Suriname, the Netherlands, Canada, Georgia, Morocco, the Czech Republic, Brazil, and Colombia, with most arriving from another European country.

They are either held at Litla-Hrauni or Hólmsheiði facilities. The police chief for the Suðurnes region noted that when dealing with individuals possessing internal drugs, they must be housed in a holding cell until they can relinquish the substances. Recently, there were five such individuals in custody waiting to dispose of illegal narcotics.

This is Iceland’s only specialized facility for handling such cases, but the overall lack of resources at the police department is quite severe. The Reykjanesbær police station’s custody cells are currently used, yet the station is inadequately equipped overall. While plans for upgrades are under way, there are concerns about the timeline, as improvements are not expected until spring 2025. The police chief expressed that it’s unprecedented for such a large police unit to operate without a functioning police station for an extended period, marking conditions as extremely challenging in all respects.