Norway increasingly concerned by Swedish gangs

Norway is becoming increasingly concerned about Swedish criminal gangs, already known for their crimes in Denmark, where they operate throughout the country and are linked to a number of serious violent crimes.

“It is serious. We are afraid that the development we have seen in Sweden will infect us”, said Kjetil Tunold, head of the organised crime division at the Norwegian National Bureau of Investigation, told Swedish national broadcaster SVT on Sunday

One of the cases in which Swedish gang criminals are suspected of involvement is the explosion at a house in a housing estate in Dröbak, south of Oslo, last autumn. Three Swedes with gang connections were charged with attempted murder after the incident.

According to Tomas Staerk, head of investigations for Norway’s Eastern Police District, several Swedish criminal networks have established themselves in the area.

“We are worried about the gross use of violence and that the Swedish gangs will recruit vulnerable young people to join them”, he said, adding that he was particularly concerned about the crimes connected to drug trafficking.

“It is money laundering, economic crime, violence and threats”, Staerk said.

Swedish gangs can now be found in all twelve police districts in Norway and can be linked to the import and distribution of drugs in Norway, according to the Norwegian police’s national threat report on criminal networks.

The Norwegian police have now asked for support from the government to start joint patrols with the Swedish police in the border areas that are particularly exposed to the crime of the Swedish gangs.

In the request, the police point out that the county police in the Swedish regions of Värmland, Dalarna, and Jämtland describe the situation as exceptional. The authorities believe there is a high risk of a trend towards more serious violence.

“If the level of violence increases in one place, it can spread so that you strike back with the same coin. It becomes a kind of spiral of violence”, Tunold told SVT.

A broader issue

This is not the first time Swedish criminal gangs have caused trouble in neighbouring Nordic countries.

On Friday, Denmark announced that it would introduce border controls with Sweden, following a resurgence of Swedish gang violence that has spilt over into Denmark in recent weeks and after Swedes were arrested on suspicion of several violent crimes in Denmark. 

“The reality right now is that not only Denmark but large parts of the Nordic countries are feeling the consequences of Sweden’s long-standing failed immigration and legal policies, and we take that extremely seriously,” said Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard (Social Democrats, S&D) at a press conference on 14 August.

Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer (Moderates, EPP) said in a response to Reuters that Denmark also bore some responsibility for its own gangs but agreed with much of the criticism of Sweden’s gang problem.

In response, a Nordic hub of police officers from Finland, Norway, and Denmark will be set up in Stockholm. Norwegian and Finnish officers are already involved, and Danish officers will join in a few weeks.

Sweden, with a population of just 10 million, has the highest per capita rate of gun violence in the EU, with 55 fatal shootings in 363 incidents last year – far more than the combined total of six fatal shootings in the other three Nordic countries.

(Charles Szumski | Euractiv.com)