Ten years after the sinking of the “Estonia” a former head of port customs in Stockholm, Lennart Henriksson, has confirmed what had been the subject of speculation ever since the catastrophe – that secret military material had been shipped onboard the “Estonia” from Tallinn to Stockholm.
After having been silent for 10 years Henriksson contacted the journalist Lars Borgnås of UPPDRAG GRANSKNING (TV-magazine of the government controlled SVT-Channel 1) and was interviewed before running cameras.
In summary Henriksson stated the following:
- On 12 or 13 September 1994 he was instructed by the director of customs not to search a particular car arriving onboard the “Estonia”. He asked immediately for the reason for this very unusual order and was told that it came from the highest level.
- When “Estonia” had arrived he identified the car and spoke to the driver. It was a Volvo station wagon loaded with cartons. He opened a few boxes and found what was in his opinion military electronic (he knew this from his experience gained during his time in the military services).
- By means of the car’s license plate number he found out that the registered owner was Ericsson Access AB, a company that at this time was part of the Ericsson group of companies. (Today Ericsson states to know nothing about this.)
- The same thing happened again a week later on 20 September 1994. Henriksson was again ordered not to search a particular car, did it again and found similar boxes.
When Lars Borgnås spoke to the customs superintendent Stig Sandelin about the above he remained silent and referred to classified information and national security. He did, however, confirm the transports and also that he saw the material having been shipped to Stockholm.
In a recorded conversation (by Lars Borgnås) between Lennart Henriksson and Stig Sandelin, the latter stated that there had been a secret agreement between the Commissioner of the Swedish Customs at that time, Ulf Larsson, and the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Forces, Ove Victorin, to the effect that Stig Sandelin should handle the customs clearance when the material arrived. Stig Sandelin also confirmed that it had been Russian material, that the Swedish Defence was mixed up in it and that it all took place in great secrecy.
It was further confirmed that the boxes Henriksson did look into contained military electronics, however, what had been in the boxes he did not look into?
Sören Lindman was the military attaché in the Baltic States at the time and when being interviewed by Borgnås he stated to have occasionally taken himself military material home to Stockholm under the protection of his diplomatic passport.
The first Supreme Commander of Estonia, General Alexander Einseln, also confirmed to Lars Borgnås that in those days everything was for sale and anything was available, if you could pay for it.
When UPPDRAG GRANSKNING contacted persons higher up in the customs- and military-organisations of Sweden apparently their memories failed. Neither the Director of Customs, Inge Lindunger, nor the then Commissioner of Customs, Ulf Larsson, nor the then Chief-of-Staff (Supreme Commander) Ove Victorin, remembered anything.
Albeit it’s meager content the public testimony of Lennart Henriksson made the Swedish People realize that their government had not told them the truth and, even 10 years after the casualty, still tried to conceal it.
Attached as Enclosure 29 is a “Summary of Interviews by Lars Borgnås” with Lennart Henriksson, Stig Sandelin, Alexander Einseln, Ove Victorin, Erik Rossander and Werner Hummel by the Swedish journalist Knut Carlqvist, and, further - as Enclosures 30.1 and 30.2 – two internet articles of 2003 in the same context.
The first article – Enclosure 30.1 - is the on-line publication of the Russian PRAVDA of 27 January 1999 reporting on the sale of top-secret military technology from the Russian Air Force via the Swedish company Exico to the Swedish Armed Forces, i.e. the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV). Between 1994 and 2002 Exico allegedly received US$ 8.5 million for these sales from FMV.
The second article – Enclosure 30.2 - originates from the “Space War” website dated 18 November 2003 and reports in more detail about the deal between unnamed Russians, Exico AB and the Swedish FMV. Attached is even a copy of the contract between FMV and Exico AB, Malmö dated 02.02.1995 which had been stamped “secret” on 10 July 2002 and which obviously referred to some radar equipment.
Apparently those publications were neither picked up by the Swedish - nor the international - press until the testimony of Lennart Henriksson became public which confirmed the secret transport of military equipment from Tallinn to Stockholm. Only thereafter did the Swedish media investigate the background of these transports deeper and uncovered the involvement of the Swedish Armed Forces via the company Exico AB of Malmö. See Enclosure 31. |
