Sweden: Stepping up the fight against organized crime

DW (English)

Sweden is taking a tougher stance against the rampant violence of organized crime. In 2022, gang violence claimed over 60 lives, the highest toll ever. Both perpetrators and victims are getting younger and younger.

Transcript

00:00 Umeh Sarihan still finds it difficult to go to the cemetery.

00:05 Nearly 50 years ago, he left Turkey for Sweden,

00:09 thinking it was a peaceful country.

00:12 Today, he's standing at the grave of his son, Serdar,

00:16 who was shot by gangsters.

00:18 Sarihan is still in disbelief.

00:23 Written on a stone are the words, "We miss you so much."

00:30 My son was more than a son to me.

00:34 He was my best friend and companion.

00:37 He was everything to me.

00:40 A hard-working person with principles.

00:43 The real estate agent was shot dead in front of his wife and children

00:48 in his house near Stockholm, allegedly an act of retaliation.

00:52 Serdar's son, Umeh's grandson, is allegedly involved with a gang

00:57 and is suspected of having shot at the family home of a rival gang member.

01:02 They broadcast a photo of my grandson on the TV program Wanted.

01:09 Three hours later, my son was dead.

01:13 His grandson's alleged involvement in gang violence weighs heavily on Umeh.

01:20 He and his family have had no contact with his grandson for years.

01:26 We put in a lot of effort so he could get a job and live a normal life,

01:32 but unfortunately he chose this path.

01:36 Gang wars have been spreading fear and terror in Sweden for years.

01:42 In 2022, they claimed 62 lives, more than ever before.

01:47 In Stockholm alone, the Wall Street Journal calculated that the murder rate

01:51 per capita is 30 times higher than in London.

01:55 Conflicts primarily revolve around turf wars in the drug trade.

02:00 Sometimes it's simply about defending so-called honour.

02:04 Most of the perpetrators hail from migrant communities.

02:08 They shoot through apartment doors and at cars,

02:12 throw hand grenades and plant bombs,

02:15 and increasing number of innocent people are killed as a result.

02:20 The government is on high alert.

02:24 Sweden has never experienced anything like this.

02:29 No country in Europe has experienced anything like this.

02:33 I've asked the national police chief and the commander of the army to join me.

02:37 We want to see how the army is helping the police to fight against a criminal gang.

02:42 There aren't any soldiers patrolling the streets of Stockholm, yet.

02:49 But for investigative journalist Diamant Salihu,

02:53 the government's announcement shows just how powerful the criminal networks in Sweden have become.

02:58 There is one major conflict at the moment within a network called the Foxtrot network

03:06 that has been divided in two fractions because of debt, because of internal conflicts.

03:14 And they are now fighting each other to the death.

03:18 A big problem that Swedish authorities have when it comes to dealing with this situation that we have at the moment

03:25 is that the leaders that control a lot of the drug market, they are operating from abroad.

03:34 The police in Gottsunda, a suburb of the central Swedish city of Uppsala,

03:39 have deemed it to be a high-risk area.

03:42 According to Swedish reports, gangs like to recruit new members here.

03:47 Boredom, a lack of respect toward law enforcement and low sentences all make this easier for gangs.

03:55 The area is filled with social housing apartments built in the 1960s and 70s.

04:03 These days, immigrants make up most of the population.

04:08 A majority of the 10,000 households here are considered low-income.

04:12 Fifteen-year-old Ahmed takes us on a tour of Gottsunda.

04:24 He was born in Iraq and came to Sweden with his parents ten years ago.

04:28 People have so many prejudices against Gottsunda.

04:35 But everyone who lives here is like family.

04:38 We all get along well together.

04:42 After school, Ahmed hangs out on the streets with his friend Arved.

04:48 Sometimes they go to one of Gottsunda's two youth clubs, which are open all day.

04:53 Nobody wants to be filmed here.

04:55 Ahmed says there are plenty of things to do for fun in the neighborhood,

04:59 but many kids his age still turn to crime.

05:03 [knocking]

05:05 Yes, I have friends who get into things like that, yeah.

05:11 But I always try to stay away from that stuff.

05:14 There's always a risk of getting pulled into something like that.

05:20 I try not to stay out too late at night, and I prefer going out with a friend.

05:29 You always have a friend who follows you home.

05:32 Ahmed's precautions are justified.

05:35 In August, a 13-year-old boy was shot on a bus in Gottsunda.

05:40 He goes to Ahmed's school.

05:43 It's not only the victims who are getting younger and younger, it's also the perpetrators.

05:50 Gang leaders prefer to recruit 14- to 15-year-olds,

05:54 who are typically paid the equivalent of a few hundred euros for their first errands.

05:59 Later, they might be ordered to commit murder, which pays much more.

06:03 "The increasingly younger ages of new recruits shows the full extent to which the state and society in Sweden are failing,"

06:12 says expert Diamant Salihou.

06:14 He's also a child of immigrants from Kosovo.

06:18 In Sweden, if you commit murder and if you're 16, you can get a maximum of four years in youth custody,

06:26 where you can have access to an iPad and communicate with friends on the other side.

06:32 So the risk is very low for the reward they can get, either money or, quite often, status.

06:39 These three social workers in Gottsunda take to the streets to prevent minors from falling into the clutches of gangs.

06:48 Every evening at 6pm, they head to the shopping centre and talk to security staff, but, more importantly, to young people.

06:57 Their message is simple. We're here for anyone who needs help.

07:03 But sometimes the gangs are faster.

07:06 "Yes, they are trying to recruit the younger people, but what we do is, like, we go in the middle schools,

07:13 like, year four and five, where they're, like, 10, 11 years old, and we try to teach them about the warning signs

07:20 and what can happen, and also what is against the law and what's lawful, and what kind of support can you get.

07:28 So, obviously, we can't give them exactly what the recruiters can, but we do try to offer them jobs,

07:37 meaningful free time, positive role models, and stuff like that."

07:43 "And, unfortunately, they mostly live for the day or for the hour and think, 'Oh, maybe I can get some status,

07:50 maybe I can get some fast money.' They don't see how it will turn out in the long haul,

07:56 and that's what we really try to talk with them about."

07:59 According to a 2022 police report, only one in four fatal shootings gets solved.

08:08 The police department in Gotsunda thinks the criticism of its work is unjustified,

08:13 because their work is constrained by the law.

08:16 "There is a law from 1942 that prohibits us from searching homes after 9pm, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

08:31 Criminals don't get up until 9pm these days. What worries us now is that so many innocent people

08:39 are becoming victims of these conflicts, even though they have nothing to do with them."

08:43 Ahmed and his friend Abed don't see a future for themselves with the gangs of Gotsunda.

08:50 Instead, a new recording studio in the youth center has piqued their interest.

08:57 Children and the young people from the district have already produced a hit song titled 'We are Gotsunda'.

09:25 "That's what we should focus on. That everyone is doing well, that everyone feels safe and at home."

09:32 For many years, Umeh Sarihan also felt at home in Sweden.

09:39 But since the violent death of his son, his feelings have changed, and he says there are many to blame.

09:53 "First of all, it's the fault of the drug lords who ordered the murder, and the criminals who carried it out.

10:00 The third person at fault is my grandson, who got us into this situation in the first place.

10:08 And finally, the authorities, who have been watching this go on for so long,

10:18 when they should be protecting their citizens."

10:21 "They are in charge of ensuring the safety of the citizens."

10:24 Umeh Sarihan is not the only person who wants to feel safe again in Sweden.

10:32 (gentle music)

10:34 you

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