Prosecutor, Andreas Bogseth.
The fire at the old dairy was reported on Sunday afternoon. Emergency services worked intensively to contain the blaze.
The day after the fire, individuals were taken into custody, according to documents from the Swedish Financial Crime Authority (Ekobrottsmyndigheten) seen by Norran. The suspicions involve serious illegal handling of excise goods in Skellefteå municipality and serious tax offences, dating back to 2024-2025.
According to the prosecutor, the excise goods in question are various forms of tobacco.
– Three people have been arrested, and the goods are of high value, he confirmed.
Bogseth was called in from his holiday as the investigation developed.
The documents show that two of the suspects were arrested the day after the fire, on Monday at 7:45 AM, and both were officially detained by the prosecutor at 7:53 AM the same day.
It is also stated that "there are many suspects in the case," but Bogseth declined to comment further.
Have the three arrested individuals been questioned?
– No, they haven’t been properly questioned yet.
Could there be more arrests?
– I can’t comment on that either.
He also declined to say who the arrested individuals are, but confirmed the arrests took place in different locations - some in the Stockholm area, others in Västerbotten.
The dairy was gutted by the fire.
The emergency services were on site for several hours.
Ola Lindström of the emergency services.
Tobacco products are subject to excise duty, a special consumption tax applied to selected goods and services.
Serious illegal handling of excise goods can include storing, producing, or transporting tobacco products as part of systematic or large-scale criminal activity. It may also involve causing the state to lose significant tax revenues.
The penalty for this offence can be up to four years in prison.