An Iranian who hijacked a jet to Oslo in 1993 and later won asylum in Norway has been arrested for alleged drug smuggling, police said.
Police arrested Fahrad Mohammed Injeh in a raid on a garage near the Swedish border, Aftenposten newspaper reported. Four other men were also arrested.
Police found more than five kilos of amphetamines in a car they said was driven from Sweden by two of the arrested men.
Injeh - believed to have been one of the intended recipients of the drugs - and his brother hijacked an Aeroflot flight from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Oslo in 1993. The brothers were later deported, jailed in Russia and released in 1997.
They managed to return to Norway and sought asylum, eventually winning it on the grounds they would be hanged if sent back to Iran. Norway does not deport people it believes face the death penalty in their homeland.
A potential drug conviction likely will not revoke their asylum status, Aftenposten said.
Ex-Iranian hijacker arrested in drug bust
TOOLBAR
To add a comment,
Please log in:
Don't have an account?
Register now to comment on stories and stay up to date on important events and issues in the Middle East with our newsletter.