Extortion against business owners is increasingIn ten years time the number of business owners being victims of extortion has tripled in Sweden. If this type of organized crime is allowed to continue, the police fear that it could become a serious threat to the system, to our Swedish economy, our democracy and entire society. The police have recently presented a report on extortion against Swedish business owners. 10.000 questionnaires were sent out to businesses around Sweden, and 3660 of them came back answered. The police say that 950 of the questionnaires pointed to extortion. The number of returned questionnaires might seem very small, but it is enough for them to see that extortion is a very big problem. A lot of people choose not to report that they have become victims of extortion (out of fear for retaliation, no doubt), and this is something the police will have to work on. For one, you shouldn’t have to come down to the police station and wait on line to report that you are subject to extortion! The ones that actually do muster up enough courage to file a report have to be taken care of properly afterwards, with protection and so on. If nobody dares to report that they are being victims of extortion, then the police have no way of getting to the bottom of this type of organized crime. Still, the number of reports today compared to ten years ago show that people have gotten braver, but most likely – this is what the Swedish police fear – the number of unreported cases has risen at the same rate as the number of reported ones… Ten years ago there were 447 reports of extortion filed in all of Sweden. In 2006 the number was up to 1240. In the Västra Götaland region (around Gothenburg) the increase is even higher – from 63 to 219. |
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FACTS Number of reports: Extortion and profiteering 1996 All of Sweden: 447 Västra Götaland: 63 A few cases of extortion: 2002 – Stockholm. Erik Westerberg, the son of Autoliv’s (an automotive safety systems company) VP Lars Westerberg, is kidnapped. The father hands over a ransom sum in Paris, France. Erik is then released, after being held captive for five days in a Swedish summer house. The kidnappers are arrested. 2005 – Gothenburg. After being forced for quite some time to pay 140.000 Swedish Crowns in “protection money” to the Bandidos (a motorcycle gang) the restaurant owners Shahnaz and Massoud Garakoei on Hisingen goes to the police. Five people are charged with extortion. 2005 – Gothenburg. The owner of Siba (an electronic appliances chain) Fabian Bengtsson is kidnapped by masked men. After 17 days in captivity in an apartment in GÃ¥rda, he is released. Several people are convicted, a 45 year old is sentenced to 10 years in prison. |
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Utpressning mot företagare ökar“Jag har ocksÃ¥ tvÃ¥ söner. Och de är jätterädda för att pappa ska dö. Är dina det ocksÃ¥?” Hoten mot landets företagare frÃ¥n den organiserade brottsligheten har växt till sÃ¥dana proportioner att Rikskriminalen talar om en risk för systemhotande verksamhet. PÃ¥ fredagen presenterar Rikskriminalpolisen en rapport om utpressning mot företagare. PÃ¥ tio Ã¥r har den typen av brott tredubblats i Sverige och polisen anser att verksamheten i förlängningen riskerar att bli “systemhotande” och därmed ocksÃ¥ kunna hota demokratin och hela samhället. Drygt 10 000 enkäter har skickats ut till företag, 3 660 svar har kommit in och av dem anser polisen att 950 handlade om grov utpressning. För tio Ã¥r sedan anmäldes 447 utpressningsfall i hela landet. 2006 var siffran 1240. En tredubbling pÃ¥ tio Ã¥r. Ökningen i Västra Götaland är ännu större, frÃ¥n 63 till 219 i hela landet. Och i Göteborg har vi haft flera uppmärksammande fall av utpressning. Bland annat krögarparet Garakoei och Sibadirektören Fabian Bengtsson. För ett par mÃ¥nader sedan ringde en företagsledare i en mellansvensk stad till Dick Malmlund. Han berättade om tre män som hade kommit in pÃ¥ hans kontor, sagt till honom att en annan man övervägde att skicka trÃ¥kiga människor pÃ¥ honom om han inte betalade tvÃ¥ miljoner kronor. Han hade 48 timmar pÃ¥ sig. Om vi inte varje gÃ¥ng anmäler brottet för polisen fÃ¥r vi aldrig slut pÃ¥ detta. Vi mÃ¥ste slÃ¥ sönder den här verksamheten nu under uppbyggnadsfasen, annars kommer den organiserade brottsligheten aldrig att gÃ¥ att stoppa, säger Dick Malmlund pÃ¥ Svensk handel. Johanna Bäckström Lerneby 031-62 41 63 johanna.lerneby@gp.se
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Jul 10 2007
One in Four Swedish Business Owners Subject To Extortion
May 30 2007
Swedish Motor Cycle Gang Connected in Stolen Property Fencing Ring
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.
