Internal strife in the criminal gang “Foxtrot network”, and the conflict they have with a rival gang, the “Dalen network”, creates fear in the neighboring country. The powerful Foxtrot network can be described as a pyramid, where the members go through the ranks from running boys to leaders. Today, the management team consists of a small circle of approximately ten people. At the very top, Rawa Majid, better known as “The Kurdish Fox”, sat and ruled from his exile in Turkey. But now an internal conflict has arisen among the few who are considered the innermost circle. Rawa Majid has ruled a criminal gang in Sweden in exile, from Turkey. Photo: The Swedish police / NTB This is happening at the same time that the Foxtrot network has been challenged by the Dalen network about control of drug markets in, among other places, Stockholm, Uppsala and Sundsvall. But why has it become like this? Poor integration and inclusion in immigrant communities It is of course not the case that all criminals in Sweden come from immigrant communities, but both researchers, police and politicians point out that persistently poor integration of newly arrived immigrants to Sweden has created fertile ground for criminal networks. In contrast to Norway, immigrants in the 70s and 80s in Sweden were largely allowed to decide for themselves where to settle. Some research from the University of Oslo has shown that this has led to less so-called micro-segregation than in Sweden. This ended with many moving to the suburbs and many areas, especially in Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm, had a very high immigrant density. Unemployment has been and is high here. A survey by the Swedish Statistics Agency showed that unemployment among foreign-born people in Sweden is 16.1 percent, corresponding to 4.7 percent among people born in Sweden. In addition, there have long been fewer and less absolute language requirements to obtain a residence permit in Sweden than in the neighboring Nordic countries. Specific language requirements for residence in Sweden will not be introduced until 2027. Two men were shot and killed when a person entered a bar in Sandviken, north of Stockholm, on Thursday evening. Photo: Henrik Hansson / TT In some residential areas, such as Herrgården in Rosengård in Malmö, between 90 and 95 per cent of the residents have an origin other than Swedish or have two foreign-born parents. Alienation and segregation are seen as the most important thing to break down, if something is to be done about the violence in Sweden. Sources close to the criminal circles say that in some immigrant communities where integration has been poor, it is often easy to recruit especially children and young people with promises of quick money and status in the gang. But very little research has been done in Sweden on the background of the criminals. The newspaper Expressen surveyed 192 gang criminals in 2017. Their findings were that 40 percent were born abroad. 82 per cent had parents born abroad and 94 per cent had at least one foreign-born parent. Recruitment of young offenders “Att brøsta en fyra för att bli en hundragubbe” is an established expression in criminal circles in Sweden. The penalty for serious crimes, even murder, is punishable by juvenile detention if the offender is under the age of eighteen. That is why it is popular in the criminal networks to recruit young people. They are used to commit the most serious crimes, even murder. If they are caught, they will spend a maximum of four, preferably less, years in youth prison. Two men in their 20s were arrested after a shooting incident in Farsta in June, where a man in his 40s died from his injuries. Photo: Jessica Gow/TT News Agency / Reuters On the other side of the prison sentence, rewards await in the form of full membership in the gang, money and protection. Thus, you have to “brösta”, i.e. get through, the four years to become a one hundred percent full member of the gang. The Swedish government has begun work to look at how to increase the sentences for young offenders. As recently as last year, the maximum sentence for people between the ages of 18 and 20 was doubled. The youth problem The lack of good enough language training and few resources in schools, especially in the suburbs, also means that many young people are left out. Some of those who drop out of the school system are picked up by sports clubs, but not all. And if sources in the police and others who know the inner life of the gang milieu are to be believed, these young people are particularly vulnerable to attempts to be recruited into criminal networks. The police themselves also point out that children go under the radar more easily, precisely because they are children. Sources have told news that the newly recruited gang consider capable of committing the most serious acts, such as murder, receive very simple weapons training and poor instructions. Due to the limited weapons training, it does not always end well. There is a great risk that children and young people who get a weapon in their hand that they do not know how to use will end up harming someone other than the person or persons the mission was intended to harm. Facts about recent violence in Sweden Here is an overview of the main points of the ongoing gang war in Sweden and recent violent events: The increase in violence in Uppsala and Stockholm is, among other things, linked to conflict in the criminal Foxtrot network The leader of Foxtrot, Rawa Majid , also known as The Kurdish Fox, has moved to Turkey. Majid is internationally wanted for drug crimes and planning murder. Foxtrot is suspected of recruiting children under the age of 14 and equipping them with weapons. Foxtrot is in conflict with the Dalen network. Wednesday 6 September: Five Swedish nationals are involved in a shootout in Istanbul. According to Swedish media, the incident is connected to gang violence in Sweden. They are detained in Turkey. Thursday 7 September: A woman in her 60s is killed in her own home in Uppsala during the night. The police have confirmed that she was the mother of a gang criminal man. Monday 11 September: A 13-year-old boy is found shot and killed in a wooded area in Haninge south of Stockholm. Tuesday 12 September: A 23-year-old man is shot and killed in a stairwell in a residential area in Uppsala. The man was a neighbor of a gang criminal. Wednesday 13 September: A man in his 20s is shot and killed 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 and killed in Råcksta in Vällingby west of Stockholm. Last week there were also two shootings in Uppsala and two shootings in Norrköping. No one was injured. On Sunday 17 September, there was an explosion outside a house in Bro north-west of Stockholm, as well as shooting in Jönköping, where a man was seriously injured. On Thursday 21 September, two men in their 20s and 70s are shot and killed in a bar in Sandviken, north of Stockholm. Sources: TT, SVT (NTB) The culture of silence There are examples of people lying in hospital beds with gunshot wounds, who obviously saw who fired the shots at them. But when the police come to visit, it is erased from memory. The culture of silence is strong in the criminal circles in Sweden. Telling what you have seen or experienced is associated with threats to yourself or your family. As a result, the police struggle to penetrate the criminal circles. It is difficult to investigate murder and violence, and one is dependent on surveillance cameras or random passers-by who have seen something. The culture of silence is often described as the very backbone of the criminal networks. When frustration takes over A residential facade is peppered with gunshots. A bomb is detonated in a gate room. Everything seems like terrifying events to those who live in the house. This is often an expression of frustration in the criminal networks. It is usually about looking for a specific person. But if the person can’t be found – then you attack the home where you think the person lives. Either to scare the person concerned into understanding that someone is looking for him (yes, it’s almost exclusively men), or to scare him out. The new victims in this wave As an extension of these shootings of frustration, it is also seen that there has been a new type of victim in this wave of violence. A mother of a gang leader was killed in Uppsala. When the criminal networks can’t get hold of the people they want to get hold of, they instead go after easier victims. Then it is often relatives or others who are close to the gang leaders who are the targets. Why do they fight? It is primarily control of drug networks and revenge that are the cause of the murders and violence. Many years of low follow-up of young offenders in Sweden, a culture of silence that the police have struggled to penetrate and the ability to prevent as well as prevent new recruitment, have meant that the problem has spread and grown large. It is speculated whether the ongoing conflict in the Foxtrot network could be the beginning of the end for them, but at the same time at least 40 other criminal networks are ready to take over. No solution? One year ago, Sweden got a new government which won the election on promises to break the alienation and tackle crime. The work has started, with promises of stricter penalties, more police, more surveillance and separate visitation zones. At the same time, there is a call for increased investment in social services and the school system, which can help prevent young people from being recruited. But no one believes that it will be resolved in a few months. The only consolation for most Swedes is that the violence is still – largely – confined to the criminal networks. But the spread into the public space with a larger group of possible victims gives cause for concern.
ttn-69
That is why Sweden is hit by a wave of violence – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
