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Police: We will not go back a millimeter
From: Erik melin, Petter J Larsson
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Police repression of the Märstan network has led to counter-attacks by criminals.
The great attacks by drugs and arms are responded with car fires and attacks on the buildings of the municipality.
– They want to create fear, but neither we nor the municipality will go back a millimeter, says Martín Wallin, coordinator against serious organized crime at the local Sollentuna police station.
On November 4, a man in his 40s was arrested at a house in Märsta, suspected of a felony drug offense and a felony firearms offense. In connection with the operation, drugs worth more than two million crowns were seized.
The attack was one of several interventions against the criminal network in the city north of Stockholm. A week later it was time again. On Wednesday, some 30 police officers and two dog patrols searched an area for weapons and drugs connected to the Märstan network. In the operation, both weapons and drugs in the form of marijuana, cocaine and hashish were seized. According to information from Aftonbladet, it was a pistol and several magazines, as well as medicines in containers, probably intended for sale.
– We know that criminal people and networks often hide drugs and weapons in the public environment, says Martin Wallin, coordinator against serious organized crime in the local police area of Sollentuna.
– For this reason, we look in stairs, garages, land and in those places where we think we can find things, to get drugs and weapons from the street. And what we thought we would find, drugs and weapons, we also found.
The task force attacks suspects in a raid in Märsta.
One arrested – one wanted
In connection with the attack, which is classified as a felony drug offense and a felony with firearms, a 22-year-old was arrested and another 21 is wanted, according to Aftonbladet sources.
– It took place in custody, confirms Martin Wallin. But there I don’t want to go into numbers and so on in the current situation. There, investigators must work in peace and quiet.
Since March, the Sollentuna police, together with the Sigtuna municipality and other social actors, have taken action against organized crime in the area. With greater resources, the police have worked with reconnaissance, interrogation and intelligence, and increased visibility. These are not gang conflicts, but a grouping, according to Martin Wallin.
– So we do not rule out that there may be people connected to other criminal networks.
Withdrawal of social security contributions
According to information from Aftonbladet, the effort of local authorities has been, among other things, to withdraw social benefits for criminals and their families.
– We are intensifying our efforts against this criminal network, but at the same time we demand that, for example, the municipality also do its part, says Martín Wallin.
– And it may be, for example, that you look at who receives income support.
But in recent weeks, the efforts have met with resistance, in the form of shootings, car fires, attacks on police vehicles, vandalism and arson attempts, according to police.
– We saw the first reactions to this this weekend at the beginning of the month, says Martin Wallin.
It was then that a bullet was fired into the windows of a so-called security center in the center of Märsta, where, among other things, security personnel, the police rescue service and debt counselors work. No one was injured and the bullet, which was in a window, was only discovered later.
– So we had made a long effort with a lot of presence and a lot of controls. And after that, we saw things start to happen.
32 car fires in a week
Last week, a total of 32 cars were set on fire in Märsta, according to information from Aftonbladet. It is considered a response to the actions of the police.
On the night of Saturday, November 7, twelve cars were set on fire, in three different places. The same night a tire of a police car was punctured and a bottle of flammable liquid, a so-called Molotov cocktail, was thrown at the facade of the Sigtuna municipality headquarters in Märsta. After the act, which was related to a similar attack on a gas station that night, four people were arrested.
Despite the seriousness of the crimes, Martin Wallin does not believe there is concern for the safety of the residents.
– We are talking about 40 people in a municipality of 40,000 inhabitants, he says.
– None of these attacks are directed at any person. It is the cars that are on fire and the empty buildings that have been attacked at night.
“We will win”
Aftonbladet has participated in the network’s police survey. 64 names, all men, divided into three groups: “core”, “middle layer” and “tail”. 15 people make up the “nucleus”, 36 the “middle layer” and 13 the “tail”, where some members are as young as 16 years old.
Martin Wallin is not surprised by counterattacks.
– They earn money and obtain power using force and various forms of influence in society and individuals. When they feel pressured now, it is the same methods that are used. You want to show that you are a power factor and that people should be afraid. And neither we nor the municipality can go back a millimeter for that.
Rather, the police will increase their presence in Märsta.
– If the authorities and functions of society rise up and support it, we will be victorious from this. No criminal network is strong enough to withstand that fight.
– Then it will be in the short term for these situations to explode, but we intensify our work and put more pressure and it is in this work that we gain ground.
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