Although organized crime has always existed in Sweden, it has risen in the 2000s and the number of organized criminal groups operating in the country is increasing. In 2018 the country had the highest gun deaths in total in Europe; deaths involving guns tripled in Sweden between 2012 and 2020.
Background
Since the 2000 street gangs in this predominantly immigrant suburbs of large cities get in the business of organized crime. Intensified shootings and even bombings, mostly in predominantly immigrant suburbs of large cities. Eight in 10 shootings in Sweden happened in a “criminal environment” mostly in disadvantaged neighborhoods, according to the
Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (2022). When the gangs made more money, the disputes between gangs got bigger.
History
Deaths involving guns tripled in between 2012 and 2020.
In 2021 the popular Swedish teen rapper
Einar
Einar is a Scandinavian given name deriving from the Old Norse name Einarr, which according to Guðbrandur Vigfússon is directly connected with the concept of the einherjar, warriors who died in battle and ascended to Valhalla in Norse mythology ...
was shot several times and killed in a suburb of Stockholm. Sweden’s then National Police Commissioner
Anders Thornberg told the ''Financial Times'' the rising gang violence in Sweden could potentially be a “threat” to its democracy if “certain groups” continue to “stand outside” of society, referring to immigrants in disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Known criminal organizations
Outlaw motorcycle gangs
Outlaw motorcycle groups such as the
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...
and
Bandidos
The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is an outlaw motorcycle club with a worldwide membership. Formed in San Leon, Texas in 1966, the Bandidos MC is estimated to have between 2,000 and 2,500 members and 303 chapters, l ...
are well-established in
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Their membership is increasing and they are reportedly active in organized criminal activities.
Other criminal organizations
*
Brödraskapet
Brödraskapet ( Swedish for ''The Brotherhood''), shortend BSK, is a Swedish prison gang that was founded on May 27, 1995 by inmates inside the maximum security prison in Kumla, Sweden. The police in Sweden consider The Brotherhood to be a crimin ...
- A Swedish prison gang active in organised crime. Their members are mostly native
Swedes
Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...
.
*
Södertäljenätverket - An
Assyrian/Syriac mafia organisation.
*
Naserligan
Naserligan (''Naser Gang''), named after the leader Naser Dzeljilji, is a criminal gang in Sweden. It is primarily active in Gothenburg. The criminal activities of the gang include drug trafficking, gambling and protection racketing. Several perso ...
- An Albanian criminal organisation. Newly formed alliance/syndicate between Yugoslavians and Ethnic Swedes.
*
Black Cobra - An organised criminal gang originally from Denmark. It expanded to Sweden where it was started in
Rosengård
Rosengård (literally "Rose Manor") was a city district ( sv, stadsdel) in the center of Malmö Municipality, Sweden. On 1 July 2013, it was merged with Husie, forming Öster. In 2012, Rosengård had a population of 23,563 of the municipality' ...
. In Sweden it mostly consists of
Iraqis
Iraqis ( ar, العراقيون, ku, گهلی عیراق, gelê Iraqê) are people who originate from the country of Iraq. Iraq consists largely of most of ancient Mesopotamia, the native land of the indigenous Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, ...
and
Iranians.
*
K-Falangen- An Albanian criminal organisation based in
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
.
*
M-Falangen - A criminal organisation based in
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...
and composed of ethnic
Sandžak Bosniaks. They are involved in a wide variety of criminal activities and are said to be very violent and brutal.
*
Chosen Ones - A multicultural criminal organisation based in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. Led by the
Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
-born Essa Sallah Kah, it is affiliated with the Hells Angels. Most members are in prison.
*
Werewolf Legion - A criminal organisation based in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. Led by Rolando Teran de la Torre, it mostly consists of immigrants from Africa and South America who were born in the 1980s. They are involved in robbery and extortion.
*
Asir
The ʿAsir Region ( ar, عَسِيرٌ, ʿAsīr, lit=difficult) is a region of Saudi Arabia located in the southwest of the country that is named after the ʿAsīr tribe. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,211,875 (2017). It is ...
- Criminal organisation which consists of hardened criminals from Uppsala, Norrköping, Västerås and Göteborg. It mostly consists of
Assyrians/Syriacs from Turkey and
Iraqis
Iraqis ( ar, العراقيون, ku, گهلی عیراق, gelê Iraqê) are people who originate from the country of Iraq. Iraq consists largely of most of ancient Mesopotamia, the native land of the indigenous Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, ...
. Leader is Süyar Gürbüz an ethnic Assyrian/Syriac from Turkey.
[http://www.nationell.nu/2010/04/28/sverigedemokraterna-avslojar-sitt-eget-hyckleri-kristna-invandrare-hotet/]
* Bredäng Warriors - A criminal organisation that is specialised in doing coarse robbery.
*Uppsalamaffian - Criminal group from
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
mostly consisting of ethnic Swedes, modeled after the
Italian Mafia
Organized crime in Italy and its criminal organizations have been prevalent in Italy, especially Southern Italy, for centuries and have affected the social and economic life of many Italian regions since at least the 19th century.
There are six ...
, involved in cocaine trafficking,
loan shark
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law.
Description
Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...
ing and extortion. Leader
Stefan Eriksson later cofounded the controversial video game company
Tiger Telematics
Tiger Telematics, or Tiger, was a Swedish electronics company, best known for the failed Gizmondo handheld game console.
History
In 2000, Carl Freer formed Eagle Eye Scandinavian, a small electronics distribution business in Sweden. In 2002 th ...
, which produced the
Gizmondo
The Gizmondo is a handheld gaming console developed by Tiger Telematics. It was released in the UK, Sweden and the U.S. starting in March 2005. Its first-party games were developed in studios in Helsingborg, Sweden, and Manchester, England. Gi ...
hand-held console.
See also
*
Crime in Sweden
Crime in Sweden is defined by the Swedish Penal Code ( sv, Brottsbalken) and in other Swedish laws and statutory instruments.
Over the past decades, the number of reported crimes in Sweden has increased slightly. This fact is due to several ...
*
List of grenade attacks in Sweden
*
Bombings in Sweden
References
{{reflist
Further reading
Webbplatsen svenskmaffia.se