Bosnia: Sweden Is the Largest Market for Illegal Balkan Weapons

A Kosovar employee shows seized weapons before destroying them at a metal foundry near the
ARMEND NIMANI/AFP/Getty Images

Bosnian prosecutor Goran Glamocanin has claimed that Sweden is the number one market in Europe for illegal weapons from the Balkan region after yet another explosion occurred in Malmö over the weekend.

The Bosnian prosecutor, who is currently involved with the prosecution of 20 people who are alleged to have attempted to traffick illegal military grade arms out of the country, said almost all of the weapons were headed to Sweden, Aftonbladet reports.

“According to the information we have now, the Swedish market is the most attractive in Europe. It is because of the high demand,” said Glamocanin.

Several sources told Aftonbladet that “everyone is armed” in the Swedish criminal underworld as the number of grenade attacks and shootings continues to increase in the country.

According to a former criminal involved in the organised crime scene, hand grenades have become easily accessible and can be bought for as little as £91 ($123) each.

While many weapons end up in the hands of criminals in Sweden, occasionally smugglers are caught before they make it to the country. In 2016, a 32-year-old Serbian man, a 25-year Swede, and a 17-year-old Turkish-Finnish citizen were all arrested on the Slovenian border with 59 hand grenades, five machine guns, and large amounts of ammunition.

On Sunday evening, an explosion rocked the notorious heavily migrant-populated Malmö suburb of Rosengård only a week after a police station was attacked by men allegedly using explosives in the same area.

One man was arrested in connection with the Sunday night bombing but police have yet to release information regarding his identity.

Grenade attacks among criminals in Rosengård and other mainly migrant-populated suburbs have become increasingly common over the past few years but attacks against police with explosives are a relatively new phenomenon.

Some, like populist Sweden Democrats (SD) leader Jimmie Åkesson, have urged the government to allow the military to aid police in no-go zones where violent crime is on the rise.

In response to the growing violence, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said that he would not rule out the possibility of using the military to combat the new wave of violence.

Follow Chris Tomlinson on Twitter at @TomlinsonCJ or email at ctomlinson(at)breitbart.com 

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