Sweden is in one of its worst periods of government in a long time. In Stockholm and Uppsala, young gang members attack other gang members or family members. At the center of all the violence lately is the criminal network Foxtrot. A feared network that has now also established itself in Norway. This is confirmed by Trond Bruen Olsen, section leader for the organized crime section in Kripos. – Yes, there are registered criminal activities in Norway that we can trace back to the Foxtrot network, he says to news. He confirms that Swedish criminal networks have been active all over the country. – In the last year, the activity of Swedish gang criminals on Norwegian soil has become more visible. Both in that they are established in different parts of the country and that they become involved in power assignments in Norway, says Olsen. The police are concerned about developments in Sweden. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT / NTB Involved in something “weekly” In addition to providing, among other things, torpedo services to Norwegian criminals and drug imports, the Norwegian criminal network buys weapons and explosives from Sweden. Sveriges Radio has spoken to the head of the intelligence section at the section for organized crime in Kripos, Kjetil Tunold. He says that Foxtrot and other Swedish criminal networks are now involved in criminal activities in Norway every week. – I am not sure if they have settled here, but they have been here and operated here. – In the main, it concerns drug operations. There may also be criminal matters related to the exercise of power and money collection, says Tunold. Being recruited from a young age Trond Bruen Olsen says straight to news that Norwegian police are concerned about the situation in Sweden related to gang crime and recruitment. – It is therefore important for Norway to have good cooperation with Sweden and the other Nordic countries. He emphasizes that it is important to have good Nordic cooperation in order to stop the leaders in the gang milieu and to prevent the recruitment of young people. In Sweden, this has become a big problem. Leaders in the criminal milieu exploit young people by getting them to commit crimes and take the punishment. In more than 30 cases, the suspected perpetrator is aged 14 or younger, according to SVT. Kripos confirms that the recruitment of young people into criminal networks also takes place in Norway. They are recruited from a young age and right down to the early teens. – The recruits usually have to climb the ladder in the criminal environment and are given minor tasks such as guarding, delivering drugs and money, says Olsen. – This mainly happens in connection with drug crime in the biggest cities. Furthermore, social media have, among other things, contributed to making criminal networks visible to young people. The criminal network is led by Rawa Majid, also known as “The Kurdish Fox”. Photo: NTB – Drug trafficking and organized crime The criminal Foxtrot network, which has therefore started operating in Norway, is led by Rawa Majid. He is also known as “The Kurdish Fox”. Majid is a former Iraqi refugee who has acquired Turkish citizenship by investing in the country. Turkey has no extradition agreement with Sweden, and according to the Swedish police, he rents his criminal network from there. The Swedish police believe that the network is behind drug trafficking and organized crime in Sweden. Eventually, Foxtrot will also have spread the business to other countries. According to Aftonbladet, the network was, among other things, involved in a kidnapping case in Trondheim in May this year. Strengthens cooperation Police director Benedicte Bjørnland will not mention the name of any network. She does not hide, however, that the increased “border trade” between the criminal networks in Norway and Sweden worries the Norwegian police. In September, there were nine gang-related murders in Sweden. – The collaboration has been going on for some time, and we want to prevent it from developing further, says Bjørnland. – There is still no reason to believe that the image we see in Sweden, with murders involving children, will suddenly spread to Norwegian soil, she says. – There is also no reason to lower the “guard”, points out Bjørnland. Swedish and Norwegian police have now entered into closer cross-border cooperation in the fight against organized crime, and in particular linked to intelligence. Because the fear is that the criminal networks from Sweden will gain a further foothold in Norway. – In any case, we should not reject it and we want to prevent it. So that’s why this increased effort, she says to news. Director of Police Benedicte Bjørnland and Sweden’s National Police Chief Anders Thornberg. Photo: Martin Solhaug Standal / NTB – No reason to be naive Bjørnland points out that organized crime in Sweden has a different seriousness to it than in Norway. – Nevertheless, it must be emphasized that organized crime in Norway has developed negatively over time. It is professionalised, and several of the networks are controlled by backers from outside Europe. – The activity of the criminal networks is often based on the importation of drugs, says Bjørnland. In addition, there is distribution and sale, money laundering, and also derived crime such as fighting for territory, debt collection, threats, violence, kidnapping and murder. – There is no reason to be naive, she underlines. Gang violence in Sweden recently The recent violent crime in Uppsala and Stockholm is linked, among other things, to an internal conflict in the criminal gang known as the Foxtrot network. Thursday 7 September: A woman in her 60s is killed at night in her own home in Uppsala. The police have confirmed that she was the mother of a gang member. Monday 11 September: A 13-year-old boy is found shot dead in a wooded area in Haninge south of Stockholm. Tuesday 12 September: A 23-year-old man is shot dead in a stairwell in a residential area in Uppsala. The man was a neighbor of a gang member and probably an accidental victim. Tuesday 12 September: A man is subjected to serious violence and dies from his injuries in Sollentuna, north of Stockholm. The case has no connection to the gang conflict, according to the police. Wednesday 13 September: A man in his 20s is shot dead in Vasastan in Stockholm. Thursday 14 September: A teenage boy dies after being found shot in Västertorp south of Stockholm. Saturday 16 September: A 39-year-old man is shot dead in Råcksta in Vällingby west of Stockholm. Thursday 22 September: Two people are shot dead in a pub in Sandviken north of Stockholm. Two others are injured. Three out of four are accidental victims. Sources: TT, SVT
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The Swedish Foxtrot network operates in Norway – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
