Iceland Loses Fight Against Organized Crime
The police would be given more leeway to investigate organized crime groups under the justice minister’s new draft bill. Among other things, it would be easier to search phones, seize property and initiate wiretapping when there is a risk of losing important data. Karl Steinar Valsson, chief superintendent and head of the analysis department at the National Commissioner of Police, says the current law does not fit the way crime groups operate today.
Around 20 organized crime groups are believed to be operating in Iceland, and their number has increased by half in a decade.
Karl says the police have been concerned about this development for some time. He considers the draft bill that the Ministry of Justice published in Samráðsgátt, the government’s public consultation portal, on Wednesday, September 2, an important step.
“The fact is also that the development in this area is so incredibly fast that we have fallen behind a bit.”
Karl says almost all major police cases related to organized crime extend in some way to other countries. Crime groups respect no borders, and therefore the Icelandic police need to be able to work in a similar way to police elsewhere in the Nordic countries.
“There is nothing in this bill that is not already in the Nordic countries, either all or almost all in a very similar way,” says Karl.
The Law Covers Crime Groups Poorly
One of the main changes in the bill concerns what is considered an organized crime group.
Today, it must be shown, among other things, that the main goal of a group, or a large part of its activities, is to commit serious crimes in an organized manner and profit from them.
Karl says that description no longer fits reality. Modern crime groups are often more loosely organized. They do not necessarily have a clear leader, permanent members or a formal division of labor.
“The provision as it stands now reflects a bit of what once was but is no longer. That’s why we’ve had a very hard time using that provision.”
According to the bill, a collaboration of three or more people could be considered an organized crime group even if the group was not formally structured. The members would not always have to be the same and their roles would not have to be predetermined.
However, the group would have to have been operating for some time and aimed to commit serious crimes. Random collaboration between several people on a single crime should therefore not automatically fall under the definition.
Nor would it always have to be shown that the purpose was to make money. A common purpose could, for example, be to use violence.
Only twice has anyone in Iceland been convicted of participating in organized crime. Asked whether a narrow definition explained that, Karl agreed.
“Yes, that’s the narrow interpretation.”
Up to Eight Years in Prison
The maximum penalty for making an agreement on an offense related to the activities of an organized crime group would be increased from four years in prison to eight years.
Penalties for other offenses could also be increased by up to half if they are committed for an organized crime group.
The same would apply when an adult gets a child or young person under the age of 18 to commit an offense, for example in return for payment or other benefit.
The police would also be given more time to investigate the most serious cases before they go to trial. Currently, pre-trial detention may not generally last longer than 12 weeks. The bill would extend that period to six months.
This does not mean that people would automatically be remanded in custody for six months. A judge would still have to approve the detention and regularly decide whether there was reason to extend it.
Clearer Authority to Search Phones and Computers
The bill gives police clearer authority to search for data on phones, computers, tablets, smartwatches and other devices that have been seized during an investigation.
The search could also include data that is stored elsewhere but is already accessible through the device. This could include photos, messages or documents in cloud services, for example.
However, police would not be authorized to create new accounts, hack into other systems or monitor data that is created after the search begins.
A judge’s permission would be required before the device could be searched. However, if there was a risk of data being lost while waiting for such permission, the search could begin immediately and the case could be referred to a judge afterwards.
A similar rule should apply to wiretapping, information about calls and other communications, hidden cameras and location devices. If there was a risk of important data being lost, an operation could be started before a judge’s permission is obtained.
The case would then have to be referred to a judge within 48 hours. If the judge did not approve the operation, it would have to be stopped and the data that had been collected would have to be destroyed.
A permit for such operations could be valid for up to eight weeks instead of the current four weeks.
Assets Seized Even If No One Has Been Convicted
Another major change is that assets considered to be related to criminal activity could be seized even if no one has been convicted of the crime that obtained them.
This could apply, for example, to money, cars or other valuable assets when there is strong evidence that they were obtained through crime but cannot be linked to a specific crime.
The police would have to present information about the case to a judge. The person who owned the assets would be given the opportunity to explain where they came from before a decision was made.
The judge would have to conclude that it is more likely than not that the assets were linked to criminal activity.
Facial Recognition and Cameras
The bill would also create the basis for a common police camera system.
Rules should be set for the use of facial recognition, body cameras on police officers and cameras that automatically read license plates.
Facial recognition should only be used when it is urgently needed. A computer system should also not be able to make a decision that would significantly affect an individual.
Cooperation between the police, other public institutions and companies should also be established. These parties could share information with each other if it was considered necessary to prevent the activities of organized crime groups.
”Plenty to Deal With”
A report by the National Commissioner of Police’s analysis department states that around 20 organized crime groups are active in Iceland. The number of groups has increased by half in 10 years and their activities are said to have become more extensive in the past five years.
“We would not be taking such extensive action if we were not concerned about the development of organized crime, and we are trying to do everything we can to prevent it,” says Karl.
He referred in particular to the numerous actions taken by the police in the summer of 2026.
Investigations into organized crime can take a long time. Data often has to be requested from other countries and the police may have to sift through large amounts of information on phones and other devices.
“These are complex cases, these are time-consuming cases, these are manpower-intensive cases.”
Karl says the police have achieved good results in their operations in recent months. The next step is to ensure that they can work in the same way as police in neighboring countries.
“That’s what we’ve been pointing out, that we can’t lag behind other countries that we cooperate with.”
Over a Hundred Cases
If we look at large-scale drug import cases, human trafficking investigations and other cases that the authorities have linked to organized crime, the number since the beginning of last year is well over a hundred.
In 2025, nearly 140 large-scale import cases were registered. Among the largest are the import of 106 kilograms of cocaine via Straumsvík, 43 kilograms aboard the ferry Norröna and 14 liters of amphetamine base aboard the container ship Dettifoss.
Eleven people were arrested in Iceland in an international operation against a criminal group that imported cocaine and laundered the proceeds.
Police also found 36 potential victims of human trafficking in 2025, and five people were arrested this summer in operations against organized prostitution.
Source: Vísir (in Icelandic)