The prosecutor of Sweden’s National Unit for International and Organized Crime has decided to seize the vessel Caffa, which was stopped near Trelleborg on March 6. This action was taken in response to a request for legal assistance from another country, where an investigation into suspected criminal activity is underway.
This was reported by the Swedish Prosecution Authority.
As noted, the foreign state approached Sweden with a request to conduct specific investigative actions, particularly regarding the vessel Caffa.
“In its request for legal assistance, the foreign authority asked for certain investigative actions to be carried out in Sweden, specifically regarding the vessel Caffa. In accordance with this request, I decided to seize the vessel to obtain a court ruling on whether the vessel can be transferred to another country and included in the pre-trial investigation being conducted there,” he stated.
The prosecutor added that he could not answer questions regarding an investigation underway in another country or comment further on the case.
As reported by Reuters on March 6, the Swedish Coast Guard took control of the vessel Caffa in the Baltic Sea, which is subject to Ukrainian sanctions. The boarding of the vessel took place off the coast of the southern Swedish city of Trelleborg.
“The Coast Guard took control of a vessel with an unclear flag status, which is therefore suspected of being stateless,” the statement said.
Swedish Minister of Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin reported in a post on X that the vessel in question is a cargo ship on Ukraine’s sanctions list.
According to the Main Intelligence Directorate, in July 2025, this ship loaded stolen grain in the temporarily occupied city of Sevastopol. Due to its involvement in illegal schemes to export goods from the occupied territories, Ukraine added the Caffa to its sanctions list.