[ad_1]
Swedish police know more than ever about how it works when professional criminals plan and commit serious crimes. Thanks to the French authorities, at the beginning of the year, the National Operations Department, NOA, gained access to the encrypted mobile service EncroChat, where drug deals, extortion and murder plots have long been completely open.
– Murder is now often carried out in the form of a project. Attach the expertise you need, and in many cases there are even murders on order, says Linda H Staaf, head of NOA’s intelligence section.
NOA intelligence chief Linda H Staaf is not just behind the desk. During the summer, she has put on her uniform and worked as an intervention policeman in the Stockholm suburbs. – I want to be updated on the situation in the field, he says.
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
– Before criminals used this technology, it was more complicated. Now they have been able to sit on a beach in Spain and order a murder and openly communicate how it should be and who should be involved, continues Linda H Staaf, who acknowledges that many criminals have already found new encrypted communication channels.
– Since April of this year, however, we have legal opportunities to, in some cases, carry out secret data reads if there are concrete criminal suspicions.
Supported by EncroChat information and many other sources, the NOA has surrounded an estimated 3,000 people who are estimated to be connected to violent networks such as motorcycle gangs, family groups, and street gangs. During the day, the police are aware of around fifty conflicts in which it is feared that these and others may resort to lethal force.
– In about ten conflicts, we estimate that further acts of violence are likely in the next quarter.
The use of EncroChat, which has now been closed, is believed to have contributed to increasing lethal violence within the gang setting in Sweden in recent years.
According to Linda H Staaf, police efforts are carried out against people on three levels.
Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
An increasing part of the country’s police resources is being used to try to stop the spiral of violence. According to Linda H Staaf, police efforts are carried out against people on three levels. At the top there are approximately 600 strategic people who control and give orders, including 1,800 so-called “performers” and at the bottom 600 young people who are on the threshold of various networks.
– We focus even more on those at the top now, aiming for them to be in prison. Faced with the large number of performers, just like during Rimfrost, we make swift efforts in the field that aim to ensure that the local police can keep an eye on people at all times. And when it comes to those at the bottom, a lot is about trying to curb growth in vulnerable areas alongside other stakeholders.
In those cases there are If imminent death threats can be feared, the police contact potential targets and offer help. In DN’s experience, for example, seven young men have been circled in the Järva area of Stockholm in the last week alone. But help is far from always being received.
– Many do not want to participate, but choose to try to fend for themselves, says Linda H Staaf.
According to her, almost all the people surveyed have something in common.
– Drug trafficking is almost always on the scene and conflicts often stem from disputes over market shares.
Read more:
Europol revealed millions of messages between criminals
“The barricades in Gothenburg are a great show of power”
The murder in Husby thirteenth fatal shooting this year
