In September alone, twelve people have been killed in and around Stockholm. Most are linked to the ongoing gang war in Sweden, and the Foxtrot network is believed to be behind many of the murders. The network is a major player in the Swedish drug market, and is known for recruiting children and young people. According to Norwegian Kripos, the Foxtrot network also sells its services to criminals in Norway. The notorious network was probably behind a kidnapping in Trøndelag. The growing wave of violence in Sweden has also attracted attention in Norway, not least among young people. – We know that there are young people, young people in Tromsø who are in a way positively fascinated by what is happening in Sweden. We don’t think that’s good. That’s what Jonny Hanssen says, who is the leader of the leisure clubs in Tromsø municipality. According to him, it is about a glorification of weapons and drugs, related to American rap culture. – So there are no concrete links that we experience, but we know that those events in Sweden are picked up by young people in Tromsø and some young people think it’s cool here. Barely a firearm just 20 years ago Jens Lapidus is a Swedish author and defense lawyer. Many know his crime book “Snabba Cash” from 2006, which is about Stockholm’s dark underworld. On Sunday, he took part in a debate on Helgemorgen, where gang crime in Sweden was one of the topics. – When I wrote my first books, there were very few firearms. In the book “Snabba Cash”, I chose to have few firearms because I knew that this would happen in principle, not in reality, he says. Jens Lapidus is a Swedish crime writer and defense attorney. Photo: Screen dump Helgemorgen / news 17 years later, it is a completely different reality in the gang milieu in Sweden. The Swedish Police’s overview showed as of 31 August 247 shooting incidents in 2023. This had led to 30 deaths and 73 injuries. In September, a further twelve people were killed. – There were rules, but those rules have been removed one by one in recent years. I don’t know if there are any rules left in these networks that are at odds with each other. Before, women, children and people who had nothing to do with the case were not targeted, it seems to have disappeared, says Lapidus. Children and young people are recruited into gang environments, and there have been children who themselves contact the gangs and offer to kill. – It is a lot about status in these groups. The maximum sentence you can get if you are under 18 is four years in a juvenile facility. You take the four years to gain status and become a person others can trust 100 per cent, says Lapidus. Feels like a war to some – I know people who are on these networks that now abound on TV. It is in a way that they are caught in a war. It is like talking to people in Ukraine about what they are experiencing. That’s what Marius Solberg, editor at YLTV, says. This is Scandinavia’s largest platform in the genres of rap and R’n’B, and Solberg has contacts in the circles that are now closest to war in Sweden. Few of them experience it as glamorous as many young people on the outside imagine it to be. – There are still some who think it’s fat and that it’s what they want to do in life, while others are afraid and despair – just like in a war. Those who were hardened criminals 10–20 years ago do not dare to go out at night because of what is happening, that says a lot, says Solberg. Marius Solberg in YLTV. Photo: Screen dump Helgemorgen / news He describes young men who eat Tramadol, which soldiers in war and child soldiers have been known to use. – You see it in their eyes. The light is on, but no one is home. You become emotionally cold, says Solberg. Grete Metlid is head of intelligence and investigation in the Oslo police district. She confirms that there are Swedes who are part of the drug network in the city or who come on short visits to facilitate Norwegian criminal circles. – It is nothing new that we have Swedish criminals or criminals from other countries who collaborate with criminal actors in Norway. But we are following along, especially with regard to developments in Sweden, she says. The police have a good overview of the criminal circles in Oslo and the rest of the country. Nevertheless, the environments have become more unclear now than 20 years ago. The networks are more dynamic and changing than before. – This requires us to be close to and have to work with both short-term and long-term measures. We also need more knowledge about this with children and young people and the use of violence, says Metlid. Grete Metlid, head of intelligence and investigation in the Oslo police district, says the criminal circles in Norway have become more unclear in recent decades. Photo: Emma-Marie B. Whittaker / news Falling outside of society According to the head of intelligence, Sweden has lost its grip on the cases of violence several years ago. In Norway, the police have a strong focus on solving cases that occur in the criminal environment. At the same time, prevention is an important keyword in Norway. – We work well outside and close to both the criminals and the actors. We prioritize more police and cooperation with the municipality, child welfare, health and school to catch concerns early. But we must also work against those who represent more established crime and who are role models who can attract vulnerable children and young people who look up to them, says Metlid. In Sweden, it is seen to a large extent that those who are drawn to the criminal circles are young people who feel left out in school, sports arenas and also in their own families. Many have a minority background and author Jens Lapidus is calling for better prevention in Sweden as well. – Punishment is reactive after something has happened, and we must have that. But we need to start starting a serious discussion on the other. What can we do in housing policy and sports. It is about integration policy and housing policy. Usman Mushtaq (Ap) is a city councilor within work, integration and social services in Oslo municipality. He thinks it is frightening to see what is happening in Norway, and believes something similar could happen in Norway. – Our social development follows that of Sweden, where there are areas with tens of thousands of people where there is great segregation, where many are not in work and where more than half do not complete upper secondary school. Fortunately, we are far away, but we need to be vigilant and take the long-term steps to avoid getting there, he says. City councilor in Oslo, Usman Mushtaq (Ap), is concerned about the development that is also seen in Norway. But we are far from Swedish conditions, he believes. Photo: Emma-Marie B. Whittaker / news For a long time, youth crime has decreased in Oslo, but now it is starting to rise again. – We hear from our external contacts and consultants in the municipality that it has become more unclear. The fact that we have more hands, eyes and ears that can interact with these young people is crucial, says Mushtaq. Worried in Troms The police also confirm that Swedish criminal networks operate in Troms. – The police in Troms have over time seen actors who come from Swedish criminal networks operating here in Troms. We are concerned about the development, says Per Olav Berg. He is head of intelligence, prevention and investigation at the police in Troms. – What we do know is that these actors may come from an environment known for serious violence, murder and gang settlements. Head of intelligence, prevention and investigation at the police in Troms. Per Olav Berg, is concerned about the development. Photo: Christian Kråkenes / news The leader of the leisure clubs believes that Tromsø is nevertheless a safe place to grow up. – The vast majority of them are doing very well and things work well for them. So we are talking about a relatively small group of young people, so I think Tromsø is a safe place to live in and I hope and believe that it will continue as such, says Jonny Hanssen. In Sweden, Jens Lapidus hopes that all Swedes take responsibility and courage to put an end to the wave of violence. – Swedish society must address this. I want to see a mass demonstration like we saw against neo-Nazism in the 90s in Sweden. Everyone needs to get out now. We have to take this personally, every Swedish citizen, says Lapidus.
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Young people think the gangs in Sweden are cool – the police confirm Swedish criminals in Troms as well – news Troms and Finnmark
