Friday, August 1, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Criminal networks exploiting Swedish schools to sustain drug trade

Deteriorating safety

Published 25 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Gang criminal networks with a predominantly MENA background control children's choice of school, according to a new review.
3 minute read

Criminal networks are now placing young people in selected schools to maintain control over drug trafficking and territories. The Swedish government says it has called a crisis meeting with three authorities to counter this development.

Several schools in metropolitan areas have become hubs for the gangs’ strategic exercise of power, according to a report by the state broadcaster SVT’s Uppdrag granskning.

By influencing school choice, the networks place young people with links to criminal circles in specific educational environments – a way of ensuring continued drug sales and keeping an eye on rivals.

School administrators and teachers have sounded the alarm about how young people are being distributed among schools according to the wishes of gang criminal networks.

According to reports, groups divide cities among themselves in order to avoid conflicts and secure the market.

From what I experience, they’re told from above to choose schools so they can maintain power, their territory or control over a specific school, says an anonymous school host.

Long-term strategy of the gangs

Planning for school choice often takes place outside the school grounds, where older criminals meet younger ones. The choice of upper secondary school becomes part of the gang’s long-term strategy to keep sales channels open during the three years the students are studying.

At the same time, some students store weapons and drugs on school premises, and in some cases the school is used as a recruitment base for violent assignments. Police and school staff report a worrying increase in such cases.

If we talk about an area where I have many enemies, where I know I’ve hurt people, if they go to a school there, I definitely don’t want to start at that school. Because they’ll come after me, says gang member “Hassan”.

“Hassan”, whose real name is something else, is in his last year of high school and has ties to criminal networks. For him and other students in similar environments, the choice of school determines their safety.

Lägenhetshotell mordplaner kriminella
Photo: facsimile/Hem&hyra/Youtube

A tenfold increase

Statistics from the Swedish Prosecution Authority show that the number of 15-17-year-olds suspected of murder has increased by over a thousand percent in a decade. During the first quarter of this year, 128 young people were charged in 190 different murder investigations.

Children under the age of 15 have been suspected of 136 cases of murder planning – a threefold increase compared to last year. This development has prompted the government to call in the National Agency for Education, the Swedish Schools Inspectorate, and the Police Authority.

The aim is to coordinate efforts and prevent schools from being used as part of the criminal infrastructure.

– School should be a safe place for learning . not an arena where criminal forces gain a foothold. It is completely unacceptable that teachers are intimidated into silence by students with violent tendencies, strategically placed by criminal networks, says Minister of Education Johan Pehrson.

At the same time, the Crime Prevention Council reports that prosecutions of 15-17-year-olds increased by 10% in 2023 compared with the previous year.

However, researchers warn that repressive measures alone are not enough – preventive work and social support measures are highlighted as crucial to breaking the trend.

The Swedish government has announced that more proposals are on the way. The authorities’ feedback is expected in the coming weeks.

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Wave of home burglaries hits southern Sweden

Deteriorating safety

Published yesterday 12:34
– By Editorial Staff
A residential area in Stockholm, Sweden. NOTE: The image is an archive photo and is not connected to the text.
2 minute read

A wave of well-planned home burglaries has swept across southern Sweden during July. Swedish police suspect that organized gangs are behind the crimes and are now urging the public to increase vigilance.

During July, Sweden has been hit by an unusually extensive wave of home burglaries with between 45 and 50 reported cases. The crimes are spread across the West, South and East police regions, and most of the break-ins have been carried out in a similar manner, leading police to suspect that an organized gang is behind them.

The perpetrators have often gained entry by lifting out entire window frames. They have then hung up sheets indoors to conceal their presence, sorted stolen goods on beds and focused on taking jewelry and cash.

Break-ins where windows are lifted out is a well-known method, which often occurs in residential villa areas. Similar shoe prints left at multiple locations strengthen suspicions that the same group may be behind a large number of the crimes.

Professional gangs

Swedish police assess that these are professional perpetrators with good knowledge of alarms and locking devices. At least two people have likely participated in each break-in. In some cases, the properties have been surveilled in advance, indicating that the crimes were carefully planned.

These are professional and organized gangs behind these crimes. We believe that at least two perpetrators were involved in each break-in. And in some cases we suspect they visited the locations and conducted surveillance some time before the actual break-in, says Lina Carlshamre, crime analyst at the crime coordination unit in the West police region, in a press release.

In response to this development, Swedish police have strengthened cooperation between the affected regions. The authorities are now urging villa owners to be extra vigilant – especially during vacation periods when many homes stand empty.

They emphasize the importance of maintaining contact with neighbors and reporting suspicious behavior. According to crime analysts, the motto is: better once too often than once too little.

Despite the fact that the number of residential burglaries has decreased somewhat in the country in recent years, July’s statistics show that the threat to villa owners remains.

Only one ambulance on duty in central Stockholm

Deteriorating safety

Published 24 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
"I would say it has never been as bad as it is now, not even during the pandemic", according to the chief safety representative for ambulance services.
2 minute read

On Tuesday evening, only one ambulance was on duty in central Stockholm, Sweden. The cause is staff shortage. Now the opposition demands that the red-green regional council produce a crisis plan.

At the city station in Stockholm, there are normally four ambulances, but during the week only one of these was in service. According to Emil Skoglund, chief safety representative for ambulance services in Stockholm, the situation is the worst ever.

We receive between 30 to 40 text messages daily about vacant shifts. We have parked vehicles everywhere. I would say it has never been as bad as it is now, not even during the pandemic, he tells the Schibsted-owned tabloid Aftonbladet.

Skoglund warns that the staff shortage poses a direct threat to Stockholm residents’ safety and that there is a risk that seriously injured or ill people will not receive ambulance service in time. He points to changed working conditions and drastically reduced starting salaries as the main causes.

Emil Skoglund is chief safety representative for ambulance services in Stockholm. Photo: private

Operations manager downplays the crisis

Jani Sundqvist, operations manager for AISAB which is responsible for ambulance services in Stockholm region, has a less dramatic view of the situation. He refers to the system of “borderless dispatch” which means that ambulances from other stations can provide coverage.

It’s not the case that the area covered by the city station only has one vehicle, explains Sundqvist, who hopes that a new collective agreement this autumn will improve the situation.

Opposition demands crisis plan

The Moderate Party’s opposition regional councilor Kristoffer Tamsons is harshly critical.

It is completely unacceptable that Sweden’s capital finds itself in a situation where one ambulance is supposed to serve hundreds of people. It is a threat to people’s lives and health, he says.

The Moderate Party demands that regional councilor Talla Alkurdi (Social Democrat) convene the regional board to produce a crisis plan. On Wednesday morning, Alkurdi held a crisis meeting with the Swedish Association of Health Professionals Stockholm.

Stockholm Region is governed by a coalition between the Social Democrats, Centre Party and Green Party, with support from the Left Party.

Five explosions reported in Malmö over the past week

Deteriorating safety

Published 21 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The recent increase in bombings in Malmö, Sweden has alarmed both police and the public. NOTE: The image is an archive photo.
2 minute read

Malmö, Sweden has been hit by a wave of bombings – at least five explosions have occurred during the past week. Several residential areas have been damaged, but no one has been arrested yet. Police suspect the incidents are linked to criminal networks.

During week 29, several powerful detonations have awakened residents in the southern Swedish city of Malmö. All cases are being investigated as public endangerment and violations of laws regarding flammable and explosive materials.

On Friday night, an explosion occurred at a villa in Virentofta. The blast, which happened just after 2:30 AM, caused extensive damage to the property and the area was cordoned off.

We have made findings at one of the locations and need to examine this more closely along with potential connections, threat assessments and why this is happening at these specific places, says police spokesperson Katarina Rusin to tax-funded SVT (Swedish public television).

Just a few hours later an apartment building in Bunkeflostrand was damaged by a new explosion. Windows on two balconies were shattered, but no people were injured.

An explosion also occurred in Rosengård when a hand grenade was thrown into a stairwell on Wednesday evening. No one was hurt, but the destruction in the building was extensive.

We can confirm that a detonation has occurred at the bottom of the stairwell of an apartment building. Only material damage has been caused, including to apartment doors, commented duty officer Peter Martin at the police.

Two additional explosions have been registered in police incident reports. Among other things, an apartment building in Limhamn was reportedly subjected to an explosion on Sunday evening, but more exact details are currently lacking.

According to recent reports, two men have been detained suspected of the explosion in Limhamn. The men are reportedly in their 30s. No further arrests have been made and police are now working with reinforced resources in the affected areas.

We also believe there are more witnesses who may have seen or heard something, says Katarina Rusin.

Malmö thus remains severely affected by explosive violence, which according to police has clearly escalated during the summer.

Sweden: Over 900 convicted individuals evade prison sentences

Deteriorating safety

Published 15 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

Today, over 900 people are wanted for refusing to serve their prison sentences. Meanwhile, the Swedish government has tightened the rules – since April this year, no one can “wait out” their sentence anymore.

A survey by news agency Siren shows that wanted criminals are found in half of Sweden’s municipalities. In total, it involves just over 900 people who actively avoid showing up when the Swedish Prison and Probation Service calls.

Since April 1 this year, the possibility of escaping punishment by hiding until the statute of limitations expires has completely disappeared. Now the sentences remain until they are enforced, regardless of how much time passes.

– It’s no longer enough to stay hidden for five or ten years, because now the sentences will remain, says Geska Mark, group manager at the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, to the news agency.

Two-thirds report voluntarily

Statistics from the Swedish Prison and Probation Service show that between 65 and 70 percent of those convicted follow the authority’s reporting decisions and appear at the designated facility when the time comes.

– When we look year by year at how many follow our reporting decisions, the proportion is between 65 and 70 percent, states Geska Mark.

Those who are not already in custody receive a letter with instructions about where and when they should report. If they fail to appear without acceptable reason, they risk being wanted, especially if they lack a known address.

Drunk driving most common among evaders

Before the rule change, approximately one hundred people annually managed to avoid prison by staying hidden until the sentence was subject to statute of limitations. Previously, there was a five-year limitation period for sentences under one year and ten years for sentences between one and four years.

Most of those who used this “way out” had been sentenced to short prison terms, often one to two months, where drunk driving was the most common crime.

– Most of the sentences that were previously subject to statute of limitations were short prison sentences, one to two months in prison, and the most common crime was drunk driving. It often involved cases where the convicted person had no address in Sweden, explains Geska Mark.

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