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Swedish Court Seizes Cargo Ship “Caffa” Over Stolen Goods From Occupied Ukraine
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A court in Sweden has ordered the seizure of the vessel Caffa, which is suspected of being involved in the illegal transportation of Ukrainian goods from temporarily occupied territories, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced on June 4.
According to Kravchenko, this marks the first time a foreign court has taken such action at the request of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office.
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Ukrainian investigators allege that the Caffa repeatedly violated regulations governing entry to and departure from Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories. Authorities say the vessel used a false registration scheme to conceal its activities and was listed in international databases as sailing under the flag of Guinea.
The Prosecutor General’s Office submitted a request for legal assistance to Sweden’s Ministry of Justice on March 12. Ukraine asked Swedish authorities to conduct a search of the vessel, question the captain and crew members, and impose a seizure order.
According to Kravchenko, Swedish law enforcement officials carried out searches and interviewed witnesses within a week of receiving the request. On June 4, a Swedish court formally approved the seizure of the vessel.
Ukrainian authorities say they are systematically documenting cases involving the alleged looting of Ukrainian resources by Russia, tracing transportation routes, and identifying vessels suspected of participating in such operations.
“This case sends a clear message that no manipulation involving flags, shipping routes, or vessel registration will help avoid accountability,” Kravchenko said.
The cargo was detained on March 6 by the Swedish authorities in the Baltic Sea on suspicion of transporting grain taken from Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation.
The interception took place near the southern Swedish city of Trelleborg as part of a coordinated operation involving police special forces, aviation units, and the Swedish Coast Guard.
Elite officers from the national tactical unit Nationella insatsstyrkan boarded the vessel during an operation codenamed “Svart kaffe.”
According to the report, the Caffa had previously been included on Ukraine’s sanctions list after intelligence linked it to shipments of agricultural products loaded in temporarily occupied Sevastopol in July 2025.
Several days later, the Swedish Coast Guard has seized control of another suspected stateless vessel in Swedish territorial waters in the Baltic Sea.
The 228-metre tanker Sea Owl I was officially registered under the Comoros flag, but authorities suspect it may have been operating under a false flag.
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