31.5.2007



Ten years after the Estonia ferry disaster, a former head of customs in Stockholm has confirmed what has been the subject of much speculation - the ferry was being used for smuggling across the Baltic Sea. This secret cargo comprised Russian war materials that had been let through customs on orders from the highest instance.

The person that has now chosen to tell all is Lennart Henriksson. He was employed by the customs office in Stockholm for 38 years and was customs inspector and head of the sea customs.
Ive been walking around thinking about what happened for ten years. Each time Estonias name came up Ive thought the little I know should be brought into the light of day. I want to clear my conscience, he says.

His revelation has put a new light on the Estonia disaster and how it has been handled by politicians and authorities. And its something that has been unknown to the Accident Investigation Board that investigated the disaster.

The evening before Lennart Henriksson got in touch with Uppdrag Granskning, hed seen our report on what was happening ten years after the Estonia disaster. The report took up the questions surrounding the accident and how the experts in Sweden and abroad wanted to carry out the investigation.

Also in the report were the rumours and speculation about the ferry carrying smuggled goods and that it was the object of sabotage or an explosion. We also told of some relatives to the deceased who suspected that the truth behind the accident has not been uncovered. And that the authorities have colluded and lied.

For ten years, Lennart Henriksson has borne this knowledge alone, despite being personally acquainted with people who died when Estonia went down on the night between the 27 and 28 September 1994.

Not long before the accident, something happened that he had never experienced before during his many years in the customs.

Some time in the middle of September, I now know it was around the 12th or 13th, I went to my boss who said we were called to a meeting with the director of customs. We went up there and the director said that a vehicle would be arriving on the Estonia that shouldnt be searched. He also gave me a licence number, Lennart Henriksson told us.
He asked directly why it shouldnt be searched.
He said it was an order. 'But from where? I wondered. From the highest quarters he answered, says Henriksson.

Normally, customs searched all the vehicles from Estonia, as smuggling was rife. Lennart Henriksson had never experienced anything like this before - that a vehicle was being let through without a search.

When the ferry finally arrived, he went down to the ferry quay and spoke to the driver, who was registered as Frank Larsson. The vehicle was a Volvo 745 estate car.

I said the customs were carrying out inspections and he gave me a look but I said the search would be faked. We opened a few boxes and as far as I could see it was military electronics in them.

What did you base that on?
Anyone whos done their military service knows what it looks like. But I dont know how old it was or what condition it was in.

The person that gave him the order, says Lennart Henriksson, was the head of the Eastern customs region Inge Lindunger. Lennart Henrikssons immediate superior, who was present when Lindunger gave the order and who was also on the quay when the Volvo arrived, was Superintendent Stig Sandelin.

Who this was that was bringing what looked like military electronics into the country, Lennart Henriksson didnt know but he was curious and made a note of the car's licence number.
Later that day, he found out who the car was registered to. He still has that document.

The registered owner was Ericsson Access AB, a company that at this time was part of the Ericsson group of companies.
But today, they say they know nothing about the incident.

Not long afterwards, it happened again. The ferry was schedule to arrive on 20 September - and again there was a transport that was waved through without inspection.
This time it was a van and Lennart Henriksson looked through the boxes again.

It was the same stuff in this vehicle as well: military electronics. I looked into a few boxes but not too closely.
What were you thinking this second time?
I thought it was a strange procedure. But orders are orders and you dont reflect too much on why.

But what was it in those vehicles and who was bringing it in? And perhaps the most important question: was there anything like it on board Estonia on the night of the accident?

When Uppdrag Granskning spoke with customs superintendent Stig Sandelin, he remains silent and refers to classified information and national security.
On the other hand he does confirm the transports took place - and that he saw the materials being shipped to Sweden.
But was there a similar cargo on the night of the accident? He says he doesnt know.
Ive no idea. I dont know what was on board when she went down, says Sandelin.

In a recorded conversation between Lennart Henriksson and Stig Sandelin, he's more open. According to Stig Sandelin, there was an agreement between the Commissioner of the Swedish Customs at the time, Ulf Larsson, and Ove Wictorin, who was then Supreme Commander of the Swedish armed forces, that Sandelin was to handle the customs clearance when the materials arrived.

During the conversation, Lennart Henriksson asked if he knew who the materials were for.
Yes, its the military. I dont know what they saw in it but then it was exciting for them to get hold of old Russian stuff. Thats history now, says Sandelin.

In other words, Lennart Henrikssons belief that it was military material being brought in on the Estonia on 14 and 20 September was correct. Stig Sandelin had confirmed it. It was Russian materials, the Swedish defence was mixed up in it and it all took place in great secrecy - that is still the case today.

Uppdrag Granskning has also received confirmation that the boxes Lennart Henriksson looked inside contained military electronics, not weapons or explosives. But we dont know what was in the boxes Henriksson didnt look inside.

The international Accident Investigation Board, which had investigated the accident for three years, never knew that the Estonia passenger ferry was used to transport secret war materials shortly before the accident.

But why was the Swedish defence smuggling war materials from Estonia?
It was 1994 and five years had passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, leaving the Baltic States free. The Soviet bases were pulled down and all the materials were taken to Russia.
Sören Lindman was the Swedish defence attaché in the three Baltic countries at that time.

It was his task to observe the military break-up in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on behalf of the Swedish defence. According to Lindman, the Russians had already shipped home the most interesting materials from the Baltic with just a few exceptions. There was not much left.

On the other hand, there was a lot of advanced equipment in the nearby Leningrad area inside Russia.

Sören Lindman took military materials back with him from the Baltic himself occasionally. With his diplomatic passport he could easily pass through the controls.

Alexander Einseln, Estonias first Supreme Commander, confirms the situation:
Everything was for sale and anything was available if you could pay for it", he says.
Was the situation in Estonia such that it was possible to smuggle equipment on board the ferry?
"Yes, without doubt. There were no controls at all", says Einseln.

Sören Lindman has no knowledge of the transports that Lennart Henriksson is talking about - on the 14 and 20 September 1994.

In his opinion, as he didn't know about them, they might have involved the most secret section of Swedish defence - KSI, the Office of Special Intelligence. In other words the Swedish secret service.
It would be a dereliction of duty if KSI hadnt been in the Baltic digging up whatever they could after the collapse of the Soviet Union, says Lindman.

We have confirmation from Lennart Henriksson and Stig Sandelin that covert transport of Russian war materials on Estonia took place on 14 and 20 September.
But now when we contact people higher up in the customs and military organisations to obtain more information it seems their memories fail them. Uppdrag Granskning asked Lennart Henriksson to phone director of customs Inge Lindunger, who had given him the order to let the first car through.

He says he doesnt remember now either.
Whatever it was, its a thing of the past now", says Inge Lindunger.

The Commissioner of the Swedish Customs at the time Ulf Larsson answers likewise:
It doesnt ring any bells", he says.
We get the same response from the Supreme Commander of the day Ove Wictorin: it's nothing he remembers.

Then can KSI, the secret service organisation, have acted independently without the knowledge of the Supreme Commander? Officially, KSI is part of the military's intelligence and security service MUST but is such a secret organisation that nothing is said about it and very few know how and where it operates or who works there.
The head of MUST at this time was Erik Rossander.
Of course the intelligence service is interested in the material standard of other powers. Thats one of the assignments. But Im not saying how you get it, states Rossander.
Otherwise, he wouldnt comment on the issue.
Everything we did is covered by the secrets act and that still applies.

The heads of customs had slight recollections or none at all; the Supreme Commander and the head of Ericsson Access said they had no knowledge of the covert transport of war materials on Estonia.

And yet we know they took place on the 14 and 20 September.
The question is, was there a cargo like it on the car deck when the ferry sank on the 28th?

The former Supreme Commander of Estonia, Alexander Einseln, believes that if there was a military cargo on the night of the accident, it could explain, in his view, the extraordinary way in which the Estonia disaster was handled.

It's unusually suspicious that a democratic country like Sweden should react so quickly to cover the wreck and keep everyone away. I saw the same behaviour from the Finns and the Estonians and thats what has made me question whether something had to be concealed. Why such a hurry? wonders Einseln.

What do you think should be done now?
The ship must be lifted and inspected. But I wouldnt let the three countries involved be part of it. Countries without any national interests to protect should be asked to help, he says.