Criminal gangs from Sweden are being linked to an increasing number of violent crimes in Norway. Norwegian police are now concerned that young Norwegians are at risk of being drawn into organized crime.
Gangs from Sweden are now believed to be present in all twelve police districts in Norway, where many of the criminal networks can be linked to the drug trade. They are also often involved in crimes such as money laundering, financial crime and violence.
– This is serious. We are afraid that the development we have seen in Sweden will infect us, Kjetil Tunold, head of organized crime at the Norwegian National Bureau of Investigation, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT.
Among other things, Swedish gangs are suspected of involvement in an explosion at a house in a residential area in Dröbak, south of Oslo, last fall, after which three people with Swedish citizenship were charged with attempted murder. Tomas Staerk, head of investigations for Norway’s Eastern Police District, says they are concerned about gangs recruiting young people.
– We are concerned about the use of violence and the recruitment of vulnerable young people by Swedish gangs, he says.
The Norwegian police have asked the Swedish government for support to start patrolling together with the Swedish police in the border areas affected by the gangs. Värmland, Dalarna and Jämtland are considered particularly vulnerable to drug smuggling, among other things.
