Smuggler fools jailers in Sweden, gets friend to serve time for him

STOCKHOLM – A man convicted of smuggling in Sweden outwitted his jailers by sneaking in a friend to serve most of his yearlong sentence.

Prison officials say the identity of the false convict was discovered only when he’d been released on probation after serving about two-thirds of his convict friend’s sentence. It was not clear if he would be punished for misleading prison authorities.

Elisabeth Lager of Sweden’s Prison and Probation Service said Friday that an international arrest warrant was issued for the real convict earlier this year, sentenced in 2008 for a series of smuggling offences.

Swedish media reports said the convicted smuggler fled to Asia and had paid his friend for his “prison-sitting” service. Lager declined to name either man.