An intelligence report from the Gothenburg police has revealed deep concern over growing violence between ethnic gangs in the city as they battle over the city’s illegal drug trade.
The report claims gangs of Syrian migrants along with Afghani and Somali migrants have repeatedly clashed over drug sales in the centre of the city and that police fear the violence could escalate if the members are able to procure firearms.
“There are regular large violent clashes in central Gothenburg between young Afghans and especially young Syrians, but also Somalis where they fight for good drug sales. There have been several stabbings in connection with these brawls and police have on various occasions found street fighting weapons,” the report states.
According to a report by Nyheter Idag, the police are greatly concerned about an escalation of violence with the intelligence report stating, “There is also concern about what happens if individuals in these groups have access to firearms and how this may affect the already violent clashes between them.”
Just weeks ago, Gothenburg saw criminal gangs set up roadblocks in the city and keep local residents under curfew in what was described as a display of power by Gothenburg Police Chief Erik Nord.
Sweden’s problem with migrant clan gangs has been the subject of great debate in recent weeks as Prime minister Stefan Lofven only recently admitted to a connection between immigration and gang crime.
Police in the Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby have claimed that migrant-background gangs have started recruiting new members as young as six-years-old and have announced measures to tackle the issue of gang socialisation at an early age.
Acting local police manager Therese Rosengren said socialisation occurs at an early age saying, “If you see that big brothers, or other young people, are selling drugs at the playground or being asked to handle guns for older criminals then it’s very easy to choose that path when you get a little older yourself.”
“By older, I mean the age of 15. We see that the perpetrators of these serious crimes are getting younger, so we need to focus on the younger ages,” she added.
While drugs are a major source of income for clan gangs, so too is welfare fraud according to prosecutor Björn Rosenlöf.
According to Rosenlöf, as much as 50 per cent of the compansation paid by the Swedish welfare system could be linked to fraud and said the widespread fraud threatened the Swedish welfare system itself.
“It is very bad, of course, that there are some 40 clans who choose to remain outside society and engage in organised violent and drug crime,” he wrote.
“For the national economy, however, it is even worse that far more clans are dealing with organised economic crime on a large scale, a crime that threatens the very foundations of our welfare,” he added.
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