A deadly wave of violence has hit Sweden this year. 11 people in Sweden were killed with firearms during September alone. The youngest victim was a 13-year-old boy. The conflicts have a background in criminal networks and the fight over the drug trade.
Risking life
The Swedish journalist and author Diamant Salihu said on Dagsrevyen yesterday that the bloody gang war could move to Norway. He has written two books about the gang war and believes that Swedish criminals see Norway as a “gangster paradise”.
GRAVE JOURNALIST: Norway can become a “gangster paradise” for Swedish gang criminals, says journalist and author Diamant Salihu.
Photo: Screenshot
– If you want to sell drugs in Sweden today, you know that you are risking the lives of family members. But in Norway there is no such competition. Therefore, the demand for drugs will cause the criminals to seek refuge in Norway, says Salihu.
See the full interview on Dagsrevyen here.
Likely
Kripos in Oslo is closely monitoring the situation in Sweden. They don’t think Norway will become a gangster’s paradise.
– I disagree a little with the wording, to call it a gangster’s paradise, but we do see that we are a lucrative market for Swedish criminal networks, says section leader Kjetil Tunold at Kripos.
MEETING: It is likely that Swedish criminal networks will increase their activity in Norway, says Kjetil Tunold in Kripos.
Photo: Sverre Holm-Nilsen
Kripos has previously said that they see activity from Swedish networks in almost all Norwegian police districts and that the activity is increasing. The police believe that it is absolutely possible that Swedish gangs will come to Norway and that conflicts may arise.
– I would say that it is likely, precisely because we have seen increased activity, and we know that Norwegian criminal networks cooperate with Swedish criminals, so it is very natural that it could go that way, says Tunold.
Guerrilla war
The gross violence in which children kill children has shaken Sweden. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson recently said that neither Sweden nor any other country in Europe has seen anything similar.
BOMBS: Houses have been blown up and innocents killed in the Swedish gang conflict.
Photo: Eirik Pessl-Kleiven / NRK
Journalist Salihu calls it guerrilla warfare. He describes terrorist cell-like groups that occasionally consist of teenage boys who are transported around from various cities in Sweden to the conflict areas. There they receive orders from abroad for actions against targets that have been designated.
He believes that one of the reasons why this is happening in Sweden is that many leading figures in the drug market have been caught by the police and arrested.
– This has created a power vacuum in which many unorganised, often children, will take over the drug market. They inherit the conflicts, are often impulsive and have access to weapons and explosives, Salihu describes.
The Kurdish fox
At the center of the bloody gang war is the network Foxtrot – and the leader “The Kurdish Fox”. According to journalist Diamant Salihu, he has been imprisoned and later released in Iran.
LEADER: Rawa Majid, “The Kurdish Fox”, the criminal Swedish Foxtrot network from abroad
Photo: Swedish police / Nyhetsbyrån TT
Salihu believes it is likely that he will make himself known in Norway. Due to the intensive conflict in Sweden where several of his close allies have been arrested or have been killed, he is now trying to regroup the organization and find a new safe haven for himself and his family, says the journalist:
– We may not hear much about him now, but I fear that we will hear a lot more about him, also in Norway, says Salihu.
Lucrative market
Kripos agrees that Norway can be a lucrative market for Swedish criminal networks, and points to the long border between the two countries. At the same time, a collaboration has been established between Swedish and Norwegian networks. Kripos tries to combat this in several ways.
– We do this through intelligence and investigation of specific cases, but we also have ongoing cooperation with the Swedish police – both on the intelligence and investigation side, says section leader Kjetil Tunold
PREPARED: Norwegian police are better prepared than Swedish for a violent gang war, Kripos believes.
Photo: Fredrik Persson / TT / NTB
He believes that the Norwegian police will still be better able to stem such a development than the Swedes because they are on the lookout.
– We are probably better prepared than the Swedes were, because we have a greater degree of control over the criminal gangs and who they collaborate with, but given that there will be a large increase, it will naturally be more challenging, says the section leader.
2023-11-15 19:39:44
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