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Deputy Police Chief Mats Löfving’s statement in Ekot’s interview on Saturday that there are more than 40 family criminal networks in the country has had a major toll on the debate.
– They have come to Sweden solely for the purpose of organizing and systematizing crime. They work to create power, they have a great capacity for violence and they want to earn money, Löfving said in the interview.
The statements are based on a classified report that was prepared by the intelligence unit of the National Police Operations Department (NOA) in late January.
The report, which Expressen has read, lists 36 different family crime networks, mainly residents of southern and western Sweden. They all originate from the Middle East.
Löfving has been criticized for claiming that clans traveled to the country solely to commit crimes, and there is nothing in the report that Expressen has read to support his statement in that part either. Rather, it focuses on families that have been in Sweden for several decades.
The Södertälje network is divided into three parts
Among the networks in the report, the Södertälje network stands out as the group with the most influence, both locally and nationally. In addition to purely criminal activities, the network is also represented among businessmen, in the authorities and in politics.
The report says:
“Through its presence at all levels, the Södertälje network has been able to consolidate its position and influence.”
The network is made up of some 130 criminals who earn their living, among other things, from extortion, collection, arms and drug trafficking, crimes of aggression, match fixing and advanced subsidy crimes. They also run illegal gambling and nightclubs.
According to the police, pure crime is only one part of the Södertälje network. The police divide the network into three parts. The illegal, the legal and the institutional.
“The police landscape is that the members of the Södertälje network are not considered criminals, but entrepreneurs. The objectives and needs of the group are paramount, while Swedish laws and regulations are of secondary importance. “
The legal part is made up of the leading families of the network. They are entrepreneurs and deeply rooted in civil society. They own real estate and earn a lot of money, for example, renting premises where the criminal branch organizes illegal parties and gambling clubs.
Four parliamentary names connected to the network
The report describes a parallel community in Södertälje, where the network acts as a bank, hospital, insurance company and housing agent, among others.
The local church is also in this legal branch. According to the Noa report, the Södertälje network governs the church and uses it as a tool to maintain a culture of silence. Police officers who visited the church have been asked to perform services for the network.
At the institutional level, the Södertälje network has “incomparably the greatest influence” among family-based criminal groups, according to the report:
“The Södertälje network is located in the municipal council and the Riksdag and has infiltrators and facilitators in the municipal and state administration.”
During the last 20 years, four people connected by the police to the Södertälje network have been in the Riksdag.
One of them is Robert Halef (KD), who is a member today. He was elected to the Riksdag in 2010 and before that he was a local politician in Södertälje.
– I am offended and my family is offended. These accusations are without foundation. They have heard gossip and slander, Halef told Aftonbladet after the newspaper revealed the connection.
“… run for different parties to ensure constant political influence”
Another of the four is Yilmaz Kerimo, who was an MP for the Social Democrats between 2002 and 2018. Today he is a member of the council and the municipal council of Södertälje. He is also a member of the municipality group company Telge AB.
In a text message write:
“I have never heard of this before and no one has contacted me regarding this report. I have absolutely no connection to any criminal network.”
Boel Godner is the chairman of the Södertälje municipal council and leader of the group of Social Democrats in the municipality. She says:
– If the police had informed us that a person has a connection to organized crime, then we would have handled it. We have zero tolerance for all forms of corruption.
– But right now we don’t have any facts we can act on. We have had no reason to suspect Yilmaz in any way.
According to the police, he is not the only local politician who has close connections to the network. The report mentions several other less influential local politicians. It also says:
“In some of the leading families […] members have chosen to run for different parties to ensure consistent political influence at the municipal level. The network has a good capacity to influence the decisions made at this level ”.
The infiltration also extends to the municipal and state administration. According to the report, the network has an administrator in the municipality who, for a fee, helps issue building permits. Other city officials are said to be regular visitors to the network’s illegal gambling clubs.
“We have been aware of these problems for a long time”
There are employees in both the Swedish Social Security Agency and the Swedish Public Employment Service who are members or have a close connection to the Södertälje network. The assessment of the police is that it is a deliberate infiltration to understand the handling of routines and to be able to influence decisions.
The chairman of the municipal board, Boel Godner (S), shares the statement of the police problem that the Södertälje network has a strong presence in the local community.
– We have been aware of these issues for a long time and have been public with the concerns we have discovered. We have made political decisions to prevent corruption and for organized crime to enter our operations, he says.
List the political measures taken to address the issues. Among other things, salaried employees are specially trained to detect corruption in their own operations and the municipality has, according to Godner, the most stringent requirements in Sweden regarding the sale of land and property, so as not to risk contributing to the money laundering.
At the same time, he believes it is a protracted struggle.
– We discover things all the time, new ways in which serious organized crime works in Södertälje.
As far as is known, there is no formal leader. The opinion of the police is that families at the top level rule through a council of elders. The Council makes decisions on matters related to the network, but does not control the criminal branch in detail.
The report: the network has access to weapons and explosives
The Södertälje network has been associated with violence for many years. In the early 2010s, a gang war broke out in the city, ending with 18 people connected to the network who were sentenced to prison for a long series of crimes. Today, then-leader Berno Khouri, who was sentenced to life in prison for ordering three murders, is the only one still serving his sentence.
A 29-year-old who was convicted in the same case, but was released in 2018, is now considered to have assumed the role of the new leader of the criminal branch of the network. He was previously convicted of murder and complicity in the murder. Recently, he has been detained on suspicion of extortion in one case and preparation for general destruction in another. Last week he was released.
The police assessment is that the network has good access to both firearms and explosives. Last year, several shootings and explosions were linked to the group.
The report says:
“Due to the prevailing culture of silence, the police do not know the underlying cause of the shooting.”
See more:
The leader of the Södertälje network gang, Bernard Khouri, wants to contact his father. But the administrative court says no to the 37-year-old sentenced to life in prison.
