Two migration-background lawyers have been accused of leaking confidential police investigation information to one of Stockholm’s most notorious drug-dealing gangs.
Lawyers Ekrem Güngör and Amir Amdouni have been accused of passing on confidential information to the Vårby network, a Stockholm-based criminal outfit that has been a major player in the city’s drug trafficking trade for the last decade.
The accusations come after the gang leader was arrested in Spain in October and police raided the criminal organisation in November. Around 20 members of the gang, which is also accused of being involved in shootings, currently face charges, Expressen reports.
According to the newspaper, the two lawyers, who have reportedly specialised in defending gang members, used the nicknames “the King” and “the Prince” on the encrypted messaging service Encrochat, which was infiltrated by French investigators last year.
The two men are said to have communicated in chats with members of the Vårby network on the messenger service, including the gang leader.
The lawyers are accused of helping gang members locate weapons, providing advice on avoiding being caught by police, and leaking confidential information from pretrial hearings and information under disclosure bans.
Chief Prosecutor Stefan Bergman told the newspaper that the Chancellor of Justice would determine if Güngör and Amdouni had engaged in criminal activity and that the Bar Association would also investigate the conduct of the two lawyers.
The case comes just months after another lawyer in Gothenburg was threatened with expulsion from the Bar Association after he reportedly passed on confidential information to the notorious Ali Khan clan.
The Ali Khan clan is infamous in Gothenburg, with nearly all of its male members alleged to have criminal records. Its members have also been involved in crimes ranging from extortion to murder.