More and more smugglers seem to be sending and receiving narcotics and other illegal items through Norway's postal system. Police, however, lack resources to crack down on the activity.

Customs officials link the increase to widening use of Internet suppliers, where it can be easy to order drugs that are illegal or strictly controlled in Norway.

Seizures are up 65 percent, and all cases are reported to the police, reports newspaper Aftenposten. Nearly 800 cases were reported to police in Oslo and Akershus alone last year.

Most of the cases, however, end up being dropped. "If the receiver denies having any knowledge of the shipment, the case often is dropped," admits Terje Kristiansen of the Oslo Police District. "It's very difficult and demanding to prove a link to the receiver if he or she denies it."

That's because the receiver can claim the shipment was unsolicited. It's also difficult for police to trace who may have ordered the product over the Internet.

Jon Aspelund, who heads the customs operation at the postal services main receiving station at Alnabru in Oslo, told Aftenposten that his inspectors make an average of two narcotics seizures a day. Germany, Pakistan, the US, Greece and Sweden top the list of countries from which the packages are sent.

Most of the packages are sent privately, not commercially. The packages are immediately forwarded to the police.

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