They have not been in Eastern Norway for long, but during the few years they have been there, the police believe that the MC club Satudarah has shown the will and ability to commit violence and serious crime. Internationally, the so-called 1% club is notorious for drug dealing, violence and other organized crime. The police therefore followed closely when Satudarah tried to set up a department – a so-called “chapter” – in Eastern Norway in 2018. The stabbing in Lillestrøm and the shooting in Oslo join a long series of cases the police are investigating where the perpetrators are said to be connected to the Satudarah MC (SMC). The police go to court The police fear conflicts with other criminal circles in Eastern Norway. They see with concern that the violence is moving out into the streets and into public space, where it also risks affecting innocent people. That’s one of the reasons why the police have now gone to court to try something they’ve never done before: to ban Satudarah completely. – We believe that the main purpose of Satudarah in Norway is to engage in crime, says Anders Rasch-Olsen. He heads the Special Operations Section (SO) in the Oslo police district. In 2021, a new law was introduced that allows the court to ban criminal gangs. The Satudarah motorcycle club is the first gang to be tried to apply the law against. – What we want now is to test this law for the first time. We believe it is the right tool for us to prevent expansion, further participation and recruitment into certain gangs, says Rasch-Olsen to news. CHIEF OF POLICE: Anders Rasch-Olsen is head of the Special Operations Section (SO) in the Oslo police district. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / news SMC leader believes the police are wrong. State prosecutor Ingelin Hauge will take the case to court. – For it to be a criminal offense to participate in a criminal gang, the association must be prohibited. It is the court that has the authority to decide on a ban, she says to news. Once the petition has been presented to the court, the public prosecutor and a lawyer representing the MC club will meet in court for an oral hearing. Then it is up to the court to decide whether Satudarah should be banned or not. STATE ATTORNEY: Ingelin Hauge has authored the petition to the Oslo District Court. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / news Lawyer Usama Ahmad has been asked to represent the club. Ahmad is the defender of what the police believe is the leader of the Satudarah MC in Oslo, a 38-year-old man. – He disagrees with the petition and believes this association is not illegal. He therefore wants to present counter-evidence in court against a possible ban, says Ahmad. – What does he think the counter-evidence is? – We believe that the information the prosecutor’s office relies on is not updated well enough. They are sitting on intelligence information that we believe is out of date. He believes the purpose of the association does not deal with crime, says Ahmad. The public prosecutor does not want to go into detail on the specific basis on which they are building their case, until the case has been dealt with in court. – But generally there will typically be information from criminal cases, other information and openly available information, she says. If the court decides on a ban, it will mean that it will be illegal to continue the activity and recruit new members. – Creates fear in society The special operations section is the department in the Oslo police which is closest to the heaviest criminals in the capital and which is supposed to fight organized crime. Together with the other colleagues in the Joint Intelligence and Investigation Unit, they have led the investigation of the MC club in Norway. In collaboration with several police districts, they have mapped members and supporters in the Oslo area and the crime they believe they have committed. – There is drug crime, violent crime, extortion and kidnapping. Things that create fear in society, says Rasch-Olsen. In social media, the MC club has marketed itself in this way: When asked what the 38-year-old man and presumed leader thinks about the impression the members give to the outside, lawyer Ahmad replies that it is something they will return to. – And whether wearing vests and knives has happened under the auspices of being a member or not. A familiar figure Just before the Oslo branch of Satudarah got properly underway in 2018, the man who was intended for the leadership role was arrested by the police. By then he was already a well-known figure in Oslo’s criminal underworld. He was in a conflict with a criminal milieu in Oslo – the Young Guns gang – of which he himself was formerly a member. In 2015, he fired several shots at a person associated with the gang outside a bar in Oslo. Shocked witnesses filmed the fight and the lead-up to the shots. The video shows a mass brawl at the Mona Lisa nightclub in Oslo city center in 2015. The man who the police believe leads the MC club fired several shots. The man was acquitted of attempted murder based on the fact that he acted as an emergency guardian. According to news, the Satudarah department in Oslo consists of a core of 12 people. The police believe the MC club’s president is the 38-year-old man. Male (38). Convicted of, among other things: several aggravated robberies, robbery, violence, threats, buying, selling and possession of drugs, deprivation of liberty, driving under the influence of drugs, assaulting an official, breach of the Weapons Act and burglary. Male (32). Convicted of, among other things: grievous bodily harm, serious drug offence, serious violence, driving under the influence of drugs and without a valid driving licence. Male (23). Convicted of, among other things: Illegal possession of drugs, illegal possession of firearms, bodily harm, illegal weapons and deprivation of liberty. Male (30). Convicted of, among other things: drug offence, driving under the influence of drugs, threats, bodily harm and serious opposition to the judiciary. Male (33). Convicted of, among other things: Threats, drug offenses and threats and/or violence against a public official. Male (22). Convicted for, among other things: Bodily injury, opposing the judiciary, deprivation of liberty, serious threats, coercion, drug and doping offences. In addition, news’s investigations show that a further six people can be linked to the MC club. Male (41). Convicted of, among other things: Bodily harm, threats and breach of weapons legislation. Male (22). Convicted of, among other things: drug offences, serious threats, robbery, reckless behaviour, damage, bodily harm, opposition to the judiciary, deprivation of liberty and coercion. Male (25). Convicted for, among other things: Damage, robbery and drug offence. Male (29). Convicted of, among other things: Breach of the obligation to identify, minor embezzlement, serious drug offence, burglary, serious bodily injury and bodily harm, driving under the influence of drugs and without a valid driving licence, Male (39). Convicted for, among other things: Violence, bodily harm and deprivation of liberty. Male (21). Convicted for, among other things: Bodily injury, illegal possession of a firearm, illegal weaponry in a public place, violence/threats or other unlawful behavior against a public official. The police do not want to comment on news’s information, but say they have a good overview of members and supporters. – I don’t want to go into detail, but that the inner core consists of a dozen or so people, I can say that. – How many of these have been convicted of serious crimes? – The vast majority, says Rasch-Olsen. news mapping: 3 out of 12 own a motorcycle In the Oslo police’s report “Trends in crime 2018-2021”, the police believed that the MC club is characterized more by crime, violence and the use of firearms than by motorcycle riding. – It is the same experience that we have now, says Rasch-Olsen. news has investigated how many of the well-known members in Oslo own motorcycles. Of the 12 people who will form the core of the MC club, only three are listed in the vehicle register with motorcycles. According to the vehicle register, the 38-year-old man, who the police believe is president of the Oslo branch, does not own any motorcycles. He also does not have a driver’s license to drive motorized two-wheelers other than mopeds. – We can safely say that the majority in the Oslo chapter have not shown any particular interest in motorcycles, says Rasch-Olsen. Anders Rasch-Olsen in the police believes that the members of the MC club do not have a particularly great interest in motorcycles. Photo: SIMON SOLHEIM / news Lawyer Usman Ahmad is clear in his answer when news asks him what the 38-year-old man thinks Satudarah should be defined as. – It is a bit out of date since it is a motorcycle club. It would be wrong for the prosecution to say something about how much interest a person has in MC. – He is president of an MC club, but doesn’t have the MC badge himself? – You don’t need to have the MC sticker to be interested in motorcycles. – Is he surprised that the prosecution is trying this new law against them? – He is not surprised considering the rhetoric the police have used, especially in recent months. Want to ban vests 1%-percent clubs are known for using brands, symbols and clothing in public spaces. In the Oslo area, persons associated with Satudarah have been observed wearing club badges and clothing, but they are described as “not particularly visible in the cityscape” by the police. One of the reasons is that several members are in prison. But members have also used the black and yellow symbols of the MC club on social media. In one of the judgments news has found, you can clearly see how important such symbols can be. This vest has a sewn-on badge that reads “President”. It has belonged to the manager of Satudarah MC Oslo. Vests like this will be banned if Satudarah is banned in Norway. The police believe that uniforming, visibility and the use of symbols are intimidation capital that the 1% clubs use. One of the central members had his Satudarah vest confiscated after being convicted of aggravated obstruction of justice. He appealed the confiscation to the Court of Appeal, was upheld and the vest returned. If the ban goes through, it will become illegal to wear Satudarah vests and other clothing representing the club. – 1% clubs with their uniforms, visibility and use of symbols are intimidation capital in themselves. I think it is the right tool. It will help prevent further expansion, it will prevent recruitment and it will prevent further participation, says Rasch-Olsen. Tip news’s crime group: Do you have information about this case or other crime cases? Contact news’s crime group. You can tip us off by e-mail or through news’s encrypted notification service. Here you can tip us anonymously. We also treat all tips confidentially, in line with the Vær varsom poster’s rules on source protection.
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Will use new law to ban MC club Satudarah – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
