Norwegian police warn that Swedish criminal networks pose a growing threat to communities in northern Norway, particularly in the Troms district.
The focus is now on preventing more young people from being drawn into serious crime.
We assess that the Swedish criminal networks pose the greatest crime threat in the Troms police district, says police inspector Yngve Myrvoll at a press conference on Wednesday.
Investigations have revealed links between local criminals and the now-defunct Foxtrot network and the Gottsunda network, both based in Uppsala.
We see extensive drug trafficking, and they also engage in fraud where there is a lot of money to be made.
Youth being drawn in
Youth in the district have been drawn into increasingly serious crime, he says.
We have examples of local youths who have taken the step from juvenile delinquency to becoming heavily involved with central actors in the Swedish criminal networks.
He also talks about a comprehensive investigation conducted during the spring, in which eight people were arrested and seizures of drugs, cash, and firearms were made, with links to Sweden.
The relationship with Swedish networks goes back several years, he says.
Large cash amounts are being transported from Troms to Sweden and Oslo. In the other direction, drugs are being smuggled across the border, says Myrvoll.
Sweden's Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (M) says in a comment to TT that this highlights the importance of close cross-border cooperation.
"We also know that gang criminals often operate in multiple countries simultaneously, within the Nordic region and the EU. Therefore, I will already tomorrow raise with my European justice minister colleagues that we must step up our efforts significantly", says Strömmer.
Preventing recruitment
For the police in northern Norway, the focus is now, in addition to cracking down on gang activity and prosecuting those involved, on preventing further recruitment to the networks, says Yngve Myrvoll.
Our ambition is to dismantle the networks in the Troms district. We want to prevent young people from being recruited, it's very important. And we will continue to ensure that people in Troms feel safe, that's the main goal.
The Troms district has a total of around 170,000 inhabitants. The largest town is Tromsø.
