Norwegian held in China smuggling probe

A NORWEGIAN woman is being held in China over allegations that salmon is being smuggled into the country through Vietnam.
The Foreign Office in Oslo has confirmed that it is offering consular assistance to a Norwegian citizen who has been arrested.
Worried about the possible spread of salmon disease, China has laid down strict health and hygiene regulations about seafood imports.
However, the authorities in Beijing believe that Vietnam is becoming a major conduit for smuggling of several commodities, of which salmon is one of the largest and thought to be worth tens of millions of US dollars.
The Chinese authorities confirmed they have arrested a number of people and that a Norwegian woman is among them.
She lives in Shanghai and has done a very limited amount of work for Salmar in the past, but is not thought to have been directly employed by the big Norwegian salmon farming company.
Frode Overland Andersen, communications manager at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the department was aware of the arrest, adding that it was closely monitoring the situation, but could not comment further at this stage.
Meanwhile, Trond Williksen, administrative director at Salmar, said the company has started an investigation into the reported incident.
He was at pains to stress that all its exports into China are carried out in strict accordance with the rules, and that current export licences were in order.
He also pointed out that while the woman had appeared on company stands at trade events from time to time, she had not had a customer relationship with Salmar since 2007.