Hundreds of gang criminals have left Sweden – but continue to pull the strings from abroad.
According to the Swedish Police Authority, around 700 individuals have been identified, and the authority is now intensifying its international efforts to strike back against gangs trying to organize from safe distances.
– As we have developed and changed our working methods, criminals have moved to other countries. Initially, this happened to other European countries, but increasingly to countries outside Europe and the Schengen area, says Stefan Hector, Deputy National Police Commissioner of Sweden, in a press release.
So far this year, 124 internationally wanted persons with connections to Swedish crime have been arrested abroad. This represents a significant increase compared to last year, when the total number of arrests was 86.
According to Hector, it is challenging to apprehend gang leaders and other key figures in countries where legal systems and legislation differ significantly from Sweden's. To address this, the Swedish Police has initiated cooperation with several key countries – including Turkey, the USA, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates.
– This is difficult and demanding work, and we are working intensively, primarily to build relationships and cooperation with other countries, as we face common problems, he explains.
Beyond arrests, the police are also trying to stop the growing digital recruitment of young people into serious crime. The phenomenon, where gangs lure youth to carry out acts of violence through so-called violence-as-a-service, often resembles regular job advertisements.
The Swedish Police now leads an international task force called OTF Grimm, in collaboration with Europol and authorities from seven other countries, aimed at countering recruitment and violence-for-hire schemes spread online.
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The Swedish government has tasked the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (Kriminalvården) with preparing special youth prisons for 13- and 14-year-olds who commit serious crimes.
The purpose is to adapt the sentence execution to the child's age and to separate younger offenders from older youth, with the prison units set to be ready by summer.
The Swedish Prison and Probation Service has previously been tasked with preparing youth prisons for 15–17-year-olds convicted of serious crimes. Now the assignment is being expanded to also include criminals aged 13 and 14, in connection with the government's proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility for serious crimes.
In August 2023, the government received the report A review of regulations on custodial sentences for young people, which proposes that secure youth care be replaced with imprisonment in special youth units at existing facilities.
– Lowering the age of criminal responsibility for the most serious crimes is needed for several reasons. It is important to strengthen redress for crime victims, to protect society and to help children leave the criminal path. This also provides a five-year window for preventive work to catch up with today's reality. The Prison and Probation Service is now tasked with preparing operations in the best way to receive the youngest target group, says Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer.
Age-appropriate adaptation
The Prison and Probation Service must adapt both facilities and operations based on the children's age. Younger children must be kept separate from older youth, and operations must comply with the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
– When 13–14-year-olds are running around with automatic weapons, it must be met with society's full force. To protect others, they must be able to be locked up, and by lowering the age of criminal responsibility, we open up the police's toolbox. It gives us a chance to both stop continued violence and turn around the development for these children before it's too late, says Henrik Vinge (Sweden Democrats), chair of the justice committee in the Swedish Parliament.
Torsten Elofsson, legal policy spokesperson for the Christian Democrats, points out that the need is urgent:
– The number of children, as young as 13–14 years old, committing serious violent crimes has increased dramatically. Measures to prevent this and to also take action after completed crimes are a must. At the same time, the execution needs to be adapted based on the perpetrator's age. It is welcome that the Prison and Probation Service is now tasked with examining how operations need to be adapted.
Martin Melin (Liberals) agrees:
– I have great confidence in the Prison and Probation Service and how they solve the strained situation they have, not least with the shortage of places. I am convinced that they will also be able to ensure that the 13 and 14-year-olds sentenced to prison will be taken care of in the best way.
Planned facilities and timeline
The Prison and Probation Service is planning special youth units for boys at the facilities in Högsbo, Rosersberg, Österåker, Kumla, Skenäs and Täby. For girls, units are planned at Ystad and Sagsjön. Implementation will occur in stages, and not all units will be operational from July 1, 2026.
On September 24, the Ministry of Justice sent out for consultation a draft legislative proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 years for crimes with a minimum sentence of four years' imprisonment or more, as well as for attempts, preparation and conspiracy to commit such crimes. The proposal is currently time-limited to five years.
The number of minors suspected of planning murders has skyrocketed in a short time, according to new figures from the Swedish Prosecution Authority. More than 120 children under 15 are currently under investigation for planning deadly violence.
At the same time, the Swedish government reports that the fight against gang crime shows some progress – but the development raises concerns.
The government's initiative against gangs has been a central part of the Tidö Agreement between the governing parties and the Sweden Democrats. Three years after the cooperation began, several sentences have been toughened, the justice system has received increased resources, and police have gained access to new tools.
Despite this, it remains unclear whether organized crime is actually decreasing. However, one clearly positive trend is that the number of shootings has decreased sharply in recent years.
According to police statistics, 314 shootings occurred through September 2022. During the same period this year, the number has dropped to 113. The number of fatal shootings has decreased from 49 to 26 during the corresponding period – excluding the ten people killed in the attack at Risbergska School in Örebro, central Sweden.
Police assess that more violent crimes are being stopped in time thanks to expanded possibilities for secret surveillance and other intelligence methods. More murder investigations are also being solved, according to the authority.
Antalet barn under 15 år som misstänks för inblandning i mordplaner ökar dramatiskt i Sverige. Mellan januari och september 2022 misstänktes 14 barn under 15 år för mordplaner. Under samma period i år är siffran 127.
Samtidigt i MP ♀️ pic.twitter.com/lN1LZxAA54
At the same time, the trend points in the opposite direction regarding bombings and arson attacks. These have increased but rarely lead to fatalities. Recently, many of the bombings have been carried out with powerful pyrotechnics instead of military explosives.
Police also see successes on the international front. So far this year, 183 gang-connected individuals have been arrested abroad – a record figure – of which 35 are classified as so-called priority actors. Despite this, the total circle of gang criminals is not assessed to be decreasing.
According to police's latest situation report from autumn 2024, around 14,000 people are actively involved in the gang environment and an additional 48,000 have connections to it. When the next report is presented in November, the numbers are expected to rise.
Directing crime from abroad
Police also estimate that approximately 700 gang criminals now operate from abroad – an increase of 100 people since previous calculations.
The most concerning trend, however, involves children and young people. In 2022, 14 children under 15 were suspected of involvement in murder plots. This year, the figure has risen to 127, according to new data from the Swedish Prosecution Authority.
The suspicions mainly concern attempted murder, preparation, conspiracy and aiding and abetting murder, but also nine completed murders and a couple of cases of incitement.
Bombings are increasing alarmingly in Sweden (archive image Uppsala, Sep. 2023). Photo: Facsimile/Aftonbladet Play/YT
Children recruiting children
According to the Swedish Ministry of Justice, children are often recruited via social media, where gang criminals post orders for violent acts. A growing trend is also that children themselves recruit other children. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (Moderate Party) believes that crime has not worsened, but that it has changed character.
Criminologist Manne Gerell assesses that the development is largely moving in the right direction: – The best indicator for me is how many people die or are seriously injured, and there we have seen a massive decrease in shootings.
Gerell believes the decrease is mainly due to increased resources for police rather than individual reforms in the Tidö Agreement: – Everything else is small puzzle pieces that individually could hardly have played any role, he says.
Among the measures that have had the least effect, he mentions the visitation zones, which have been used less than expected and have not produced any clear results.
Police simultaneously warn that the level of violence within gangs remains high and that new spirals of violence may arise: – One concern is that hundreds of children and young people who were taken for involvement in these crimes a few years ago will, to a large extent, be back on the streets soon if they aren't already, says Manne Gerell.
In many cases, the attacks are carried out with hand grenades or illegal fireworks that are smuggled into the country from the Balkans or Eastern Europe.
Sweden has been hit by nearly 200 bombings during 2025. Meanwhile, customs authorities have seized over 42,000 explosive items during the first six months of the year – almost double compared to the entire previous year.
Police now see a clear shift where stolen goods from construction sites have been replaced by smuggled war materiel and illegal fireworks from the Balkans and Eastern Europe.
The bombings continue to shake Sweden. So far this year, the country has been hit by nearly 200 completed or failed bombing attacks, according to information obtained by Stampen-owned Göteborgs-Posten.
But the patterns are changing. Where it was previously most common for criminals to use explosives stolen from construction sites, police now see a new and alarming trend.
— During the summer and autumn, we have primarily seen detonations with hand grenades and with homemade explosive devices, says Malin Nygren, head of the Swedish police's national bomb data center.
Smuggling increases dramatically
Behind the change lies a sharp increase in smuggling. In many cases, it involves hand grenades or illegal fireworks being brought into the country from the Balkans or Eastern Europe.
The numbers speak for themselves: During the first half of 2025, customs seized over 42,000 explosive items. This is a record figure that almost doubles the just over 24,000 seizures made during all of 2024.
Martin Norell, expert at the Swedish Customs Service (Tullverket), shares the police's concern about the development.
— I don't feel that the situation is very bright in Sweden right now, he says.
Children manipulated to carry out the attacks
Behind the grim statistics lies a particularly dark reality: It is often children who are manipulated by criminal networks to carry out the bombing and arson attacks. The young perpetrators have in several cases been seriously injured when handling explosives and flammable liquids, and at least one death has occurred.
Many of the bombings have been carried out with smuggled hand grenades used for both revenge and extortion, and on several occasions unexploded hand grenades have been found in residential areas – or at or near preschools.
Dan Windt, operational coordinator at the Swedish police's national operations center, urges parents to be vigilant.
— Parents and other important adults need to continue being present in children's lives both physically and digitally. Ask many questions and ask for help. Contact the social services in your municipality if the child is contacted by criminals, or call the police at an early stage if you suspect that your child is about to commit a crime, so we can prevent it together.
The number of children under 15 who are brought to trial in so-called evidentiary proceedings has increased sharply over the past year. A large proportion of the cases involve murder and attempted murder.
Up to and including September this year, 68 children under 15 have been brought to trial in evidentiary proceedings. This is nearly double compared to the entire previous year, when 38 children were processed in this type of case. The year before that, in 2023, the number was only seven cases, according to the Swedish Prosecution Authority (Åklagarmyndigheten).
Senior prosecutor Maria Franzén at the Swedish Prosecution Authority sees the increase as a consequence of rising crime rates among children and young people.
— Since the proportion of children participating in this type of crime is increasing, it's an expected effect that the number of cases with evidentiary proceedings also increases, she tells Swedish public radio SR.
Not criminally responsible
Of the 68 children, a full 43 are suspected of involvement in murder, preparation for murder, or attempted murder. Among the high-profile cases is a then 13-year-old boy who allegedly shot and killed a person with connections to criminal networks inside a restaurant.
An evidentiary proceeding means that a court determines the question of guilt, but since children under 15 are not criminally responsible under Swedish law, no sentence is imposed.
— Evidentiary proceedings are a good tool for social services to implement appropriate interventions for these children who have committed these crimes, says August Knutsson at the Swedish Police Authority's national operations center.
