LONDON
In the Swedish suburb of Botkyrka, southwest of Stockholm, almost half of the population lives in so-called vulnerable areas where children with immigrant backgrounds are easy targets for criminal gangs.
Sweden’s publicly funded youth centers in Botkyrka became a base for bulletproof-wearing gang members who often show up to play video games when they are not committing crimes.
Drugs and weapons had also been found at the centers, according to police. And it is for that reason Mayor Ebba Ostlin concluded last year that the facilities should be closed.
The center-left Social Democrats politician was ousted in coup-like fashion several weeks ago with supporters claiming her party had been infiltrated by members who are linked to Botkyrka’s criminal gangs.
They said it was their way to silence the now-former mayor and punish her for taking a stand against criminal networks, according to the major media outlet Expressen.
The Social Democrats party denies any gang involvement and said there was dissatisfaction with Ostlin’s leadership. But several investigations by journalists have uncovered that criminals did help push the politician out of office.
The award-winning Swedish journalist Federico Moreno, who was raised in Botkyrka and is one of the Expressen investigators, told Anadolu that Sweden is entering a stage where it is getting to experience the reality of gang-related violence that the country has been struggling with for years.
“When the gangs rule the streets, they soon want to own the politics,” he said.
Gangs advancing into politics
The Botkyrka scandal led the Swedish government to appoint a committee to investigate the operations of educational organizations that run youth centers.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer announced a separate investigation that will probe how gangs attempt to influence elected officials and political assemblies.
The Social Democrats are not the only party that is accused of being infiltrated by criminal networks. The center-right Moderates party was involved in a similar scandal when another mayor in Botkyrka was ousted in a coup six years ago.
In a town near Botkyrka, Sodertalje, police discovered criminal gangs were advancing into local politics since 2011, said Expressen.
High-level criminals had a great influence in social, political, and economic spheres, while those at the lower level committed financial fraud and acted as insiders and enablers for authorities and private companies, according to police.
In the nation’s second-largest city, Gothenburg, officials are also under gang pressure, according to media reports. A 2021 investigation based on interviews with 50 council members revealed that criminal networks had succeeded in getting city workers to turn a blind eye when drugs were sold openly, or when weapons and drugs were kept in council estates.
Even Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson admitted to the media that the government is finding it difficult to cope with the ever-rising gang crime.
“I am quite pessimistic in the short term. This is going to be very, very bad,” he was quoted.
War-like violence
The Scandinavian nation has long been grappling with a surge in gun violence that is also related to organized crime networks that operate throughout the country.
The criminal networks abuse the liberal justice system by recruiting and arming teens who end up doing criminal activities on their behalf.
Currently, Swedish law states that children younger than 15 cannot be sentenced, while older teens are given a maximum of four years in so-called compulsory care.
The war-like violence results in bombings and shootings between young individuals who often end up dead, said Moreno, the journalist.
Last year was the bloodiest on record with more than 60 killed in shootings, he said.
Manne Gerell, associate professor of criminology at Malmo University, told Anadolu that in Stockholm a shooting occurs every two or three days.
The Nordic country has seen drug-related gang violence skyrocket in the past few years with police linking it to gang conflicts that result in shootings and regular bombings that aim to intimidate neighborhoods and rival gang members.
“We've had a big problem of bomb attacks for several years now. On average, we have about 100 bomb attacks a year across the country,” said Gerell, adding that most are left unresolved in courts.
“We do have too many killers loose on the streets,” he said.
The gangs end up intimidating people with their brutal tactics, causing them to be afraid, said Moreno.
Politicians turning to gangs to ‘gain political power’
But “the newest thing that we have seen is that some gangs also are trying to affect the politics,” said the award-winning journalist.
During his investigations, he uncovered that politicians with criminal connections turned to their families and gang members “to gain political power.”
“It is no small matter if elected officials in Botkyrka have to be approved by the underworld in order to remain in office,” he said.
Moreno said corruption is deeply rooted in Botkyrka and can be traced from City Hall to even a shopping center that gang criminals had taken over.
Letting gangs gain power is a “real threat to democracy” and it must never be “taken for granted,” he said.
When Botkyrka's voting buses were set on fire just before the 2018 elections, voter turnout was the lowest in 50 years, and that “should be looked into and not silenced.”
Criminal networks will never be satisfied with controlling just one aspect of society if they are “allowed to grow strong” in vulnerable areas.
“It is natural that sooner or later they will take the step to try to influence politics,” added Moreno.
