Sweden has arrested the sanctioned vessel Caffa at the request of a foreign government

Swedish police have officially arrested the vessel Caffa, which had been detained in the country’s territorial waters for two months. 

This was reported by SVT, citing a statement from the prosecutor’s office. The arrest request came from a foreign country, the name of which law enforcement officials are not currently disclosing for confidentiality reasons.

The prosecutor’s office confirmed that the procedure is taking place within the framework of international legal assistance, though the details of the case remain classified. Niklas Söderberg, a judge at the district court in Ystad, described the case as “unusual” and sensitive, suggesting that the case files be completely sealed from public access.

The National Police Operations Directorate is conducting a parallel investigation into the vessel itself, despite the fact that the Russian captain was released from custody a week ago. The captain of the Caffa had been in custody since March 10 on suspicion of using a forged document with aggravating circumstances. Official authorities are refraining from further comment until the start of court hearings. The trial is expected to take place in the coming months.

Swedish police stated that the vessel, detained by Sweden in the waters of the Baltic Sea, was sailing under a false flag and was suspected of violating maritime law and national ship safety laws due to its unseaworthiness.