Seven men, several of them with connections to Bandidos, one of the criminal motor cycle gangs here in Sweden, were taken into police custody on Wednesday, accused of involvment in several major robberies that had taken place during the spring in BorÃ¥s, Mölnlycke, Mölndal and Gothenburg (these locations are pretty close together, they all could be considered part of the “Gothenburg regionâ€).
Three men have already been in police custody for a while, accused of having fenced stolen cellphones.
It was at 3 am on the morning of May 15th that the police raided an apartment on Rimfrostgatan out on Hisingen. The 38-year old tennant was arrested together with three other men. In the apartment, the police found a large number of stolen cellphones.
The 38-year old used to run a store on Hisingen but then found himself in personal bankruptcy with large debts. He told the police during questioning that he had been contacted by “a buddyâ€, a 21-year old man, who just happens to be the brother of one of the men convicted for the robbery at Landvetter airport last year. The 21-year old said that HE had a friend who wanted to sell cellphones. They then went to a house to pick up the cellphones.
The 38-year old explained that “the tax people take all the money I make so I try to make a little business on the side…†He also said that “everybody†knows that he is in trouble and that he “wants to work or buy and sellâ€.
The 38-year old, the 21-year old friend and the man who handed over the cellphones to them were arrested, and a fourth man was taken into custody but the evidence against him weren’t strong enough to hold him.
The investigation continued, and on Monday morning the police hit another ten locations, among them the Bandidos clubhouse on Marieholmsgatan in Gothenburg. Nine people were taken into custody, and on Tuesday seven of them were put in jail.
Among the seven there is a 30-year old Bandidos-member, who begun his criminal career in the so called “BMW-gang†several years ago. This gang were known for this particular type of break ins and robberies (“smash-and-grabâ€) that the people in custody are now accused of.
The 30-year old Bandidos-member was also a suspect in the Landvetter airport robbery but was never prosecuted.
Another one of the men in custody is a 22-year old member of the Bandido’s supporter club, known as the “X-teamâ€.
The initial trial hearings began on Wednesday morning.
