Norwegian police say drug trafficking in northern Norway is linked to criminal networks in Sweden, and young people in Norway are now being threatened with violence by notorious gangs via social media.
Tromsø police inspector Yngve Myrvold says local criminals are in close contact with the Foxtrot and Gottsunda networks, among others – professional criminal gangs whose members predominantly have roots in non-European countries.
Myrvold also describes a worrying trend of young people demanding money from each other on Snapchat, threatening “visits from criminals from Sweden” if payment is not made.
– Empty threats or not, we believe that this is part of what the increased turnover of drugs has brought about, he says.
The Norwegian government provides funding
Norway’s Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, announced at a press conference today that the Norwegian government will allocate NOK 2.8 billion (€240 million) next year to combat Norway’s escalating crime. Of this, 2.4 billion (€200 million) will go directly to the police.
– Firstly, we are increasing the police’s basic funding by NOK 2.4 billion. This is an increase of more than 10% of the police’s operating budget this year, said Mr. Støre.
A special effort will be made to protect the country’s children and young people from being drawn into or affected by crime. In particular, the aim is to keep Swedish gangs outside the country’s borders.
– There is a high proportion of children and young people among those who commit crimes in our country today, and we see this in other countries as well. They must be met with quicker reactions and sanctions that work. We are stepping up these efforts with more than NOK 400 million (€34 million) in 2025.
According to the Norwegian Prime Minister, the government intends to prioritize targeting those behind financial crimes, where the police will be equipped with 90 million Norwegian kroner (€7.6 million) allocated to make larger seizures of criminal profits.
During the summer, Norwegian police sounded the alarm that gangs from Sweden had established themselves throughout Norway and were linked to a number of serious violent crimes.
