Norway is increasingly concerned about Swedish criminal gangs, already known for their offences in Denmark, where they operate throughout the country, according to Euractiv.
Kjetil Tunold, head of the organised crime division at the Norwegian National Bureau of Investigation, stated:
“It is serious. We are afraid that the development we have seen in Sweden will infect us.”
One of the cases in which Swedish gang criminals are suspected of involvement is a house bombing at an apartment complex in Dröbak, south of Oslo, last autumn. Following the incident, three Swedes linked to the gang were charged with attempted murder.
According to Tomas Staerk, head of investigations for Norway’s Eastern Police District, several Swedish criminal organisations 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. It is money laundering, economic crime, violence and threats.
Swedish gangs can now be found in all twelve police districts in Norway and may be linked to the importation and distribution of drugs in the country, according to a Norwegian police report on the national threat of criminal gangs. The Norwegian police have now asked the government for support to start joint patrols with Swedish police in border areas that are particularly prone to Swedish gang crime.
“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.”
Denmark announced Friday that it would impose border controls with Sweden following renewed Swedish gang violence that had spilled over into Denmark in recent weeks. Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said on 14 August:
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.
Sweden’s Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer says Denmark also bears some responsibility for its own gangs, but agrees with much of the criticism of the gang issue in Sweden.
In response, a Nordic hub of police officers from Finland, Norway, and Denmark will be established in Stockholm. Norwegian and Finnish officers are already involved, with Danish officers joining in a few weeks.
Sweden, with a population of only 10 million, has the highest per capita rate of gun violence in the EU.
