The Rise of Organised Crime in Sweden
Kira Persson | 17 February 2025
Summary
Sweden, once renowned for its low crime rates, has experienced a significant increase in organised crime in recent years. The surge is attributed to several factors, including lax government policies, social segregation, and the evolving nature of gang activities.
Criminal networks are increasingly sophisticated and transnational, with operations spanning drug trafficking, human smuggling, weapons trade, and welfare fraud. The networks have developed strong connections to European hubs for drug distribution, especially in Spain and the Netherlands.
The Swedish government has shifted from its traditionally soft approach to organised crime. However, it is unlikely to have long-term results without addressing root causes like segregation and social inequality.
By 2024, an estimated 62,000 individuals were involved in or connected to criminal networks in Sweden, marking a dramatic shift for a country that once boasted one of Europe’s lowest crime rates. The surge in violence stems from years of political inattention to organised crime, segregation, and an initially restricted immigration debate. While gang-related shootings and bombings began to rise in the 2010s, they began to pose a serious threat to public safety by the late 2010s and early 2020s.
The Nature of Criminal Networks
The landscape of organised crime in Sweden has transformed significantly since the 2000s, with traditional motorcycle gangs being gradually replaced by loosely organised, territory-based networks, often led by second-generation immigrants. Operations include drug trade, human smuggling, money laundering, and sophisticated welfare fraud schemes through operating health centres and vaccination clinics. This diversification of revenue streams has made organised crime more resilient to law enforcement crackdowns. Major cities such as Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö are hotspots for gang activity — in January 2025 alone, Stockholm witnessed over 30 bombings, primarily linked to gang-related extortion attempts. Criminal networks have become increasingly transnational. Members of the infamous Foxtrot gang, for instance, have obtained foreign citizenship to control operations from abroad, evading Swedish law enforcement.
Drug trade remains the primary revenue source. Criminal gangs seek to monopolise the narcotics market in geographically delimited areas, driving inter-group violence and the expansion of activities beyond the larger cities. The growing presence of Swedish criminals in transit hubs—primarily Spain and the Netherlands—allows local networks to access drugs more easily. Additionally, legitimate businesses in the freight and logistics industries are often used to cover large drug shipments. The expanding drug trade across Europe has transformed organised crime in Sweden through direct access to international suppliers and widespread use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies to pay for drug shipments and money laundering. The adaptable and expansive natures of criminal networks pose significant hurdles, lowering the effectiveness of efforts to combat organised crime.
Children are increasingly involved in gang activities, both as perpetrators and victims. The country’s lenient sentencing for minors makes them attractive recruits, with some as young as twelve being used as couriers or lookouts, ensuring that criminal activities continue with minimal risk for older gang members. The use of “child soldiers” has led to spillover of criminal activities into Scandinavian neighbours, forcing hardened border controls and pressure on Sweden’s government to act. In 2024, an estimated 1700 minors were actively involved in criminal networks.
In just a decade, Sweden transitioned from having one of Europe’s lowest fatal shooting rates to the highest. The Crime Prevention Council attributes rising gun violence to shifts in the criminal environment — moving from hierarchical organisations with violence sanctioned from the top to fragmented, unpredictable networks, where violence has become erratic and widespread. Violence is no longer solely directed at rival gang members, but also at relatives and friends. Contract killings have emerged as a lucrative business. Additionally, younger recruits see shootings as an opportunity for promotion within criminal circles.
Root Causes and Contributing Factors
The crisis stems from multiple factors. Sweden’s open-door policy, coupled with poor integration efforts and the absence of a national strategy to curb organised crime has contributed to the crime epidemic. Conversely, neighbouring Denmark has seen some of Europe’s toughest immigration laws, including mandatory language and culture tests, financial self-sufficiency requirements, and limitations on family reunifications. It also has harsher sentencing, proactive policing, and deportation policies.
Segregation also plays a crucial role, with large migrant populations concentrated in isolated suburbs, leading to alienation and the formation of parallel societies. By 2023, Sweden had 59 designated "vulnerable areas", neighbourhoods with low socioeconomic status where criminal networks yield significant influence — controlling local businesses, dictating social behaviour through fear and coercion, and recruiting youth. Digital consumption of pro-criminal values, glamorisation of gangster culture through social media and music, and materialism influence young people—including those from middle-class backgrounds—to actively seek out gang life.
Government Response
Breaking from Sweden’s traditionally liberal approach, the conservative government elected in 2022 has implemented tougher measures to combat organised crime. Recent initiatives include expanded police powers, enhanced electronic surveillance laws, and legislation allowing police to seize luxury items from individuals unable to prove legitimate ownership.
In January 2025, the government proposed revoking Swedish citizenship from dual-nationality gang members who commit crimes that pose a risk to public security. Certain public workers have been recommended to report undocumented migrants to immigration authorities, a proposal dubbed the “snitch law.” Backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats, this measure has faced strong opposition from civil society groups, who fear it will strain community-police relations and push vulnerable groups further into the shadows.
Sweden faces a complex battle against organised crime that transcends national borders. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer warns that the effort to curb violent crimes will be lengthy as criminal networks infiltrate the criminal justice system. While enhanced enforcement measures and expanded investigative powers may reduce violent crime in the short term, international experience suggests that without accompanying social reforms, criminal activities often adapt rather than diminish. A lasting solution requires cross-border law enforcement cooperation through Europol and bilateral partnerships with neighbouring Nordic countries, alongside evidence-based early intervention programs in vulnerable areas and measures to counter online gang recruitment.
Jon Flobrant/Unsplash
Forecast
Short-term
Sweden’s tougher policies may temporarily suppress gang activity but risk pushing criminal networks underground and straining community-police relations. As pressure mounts in cities, gangs will likely expand into rural areas and smaller towns with limited law enforcement, fuelling local drug markets and violence.
Violence will likely persist in two forms: systematic attacks for financial gain and spontaneous violence by younger members seeking status. The growing trend of targeting family members and civilians for intimidation will reinforce a climate of fear, strengthening gang control over communities.
Long-term
Swedish criminal networks will strengthen their international ties, using organisers in transit countries to optimise smuggling routes. Increased reliance of legitimate businesses for drug trafficking will make detection more difficult, boosting imports and intensifying market competition.
Criminals will likely continue to leverage technological innovation—encrypted communication, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrency—to evade law enforcement, complicating efforts to disrupt illicit activities. However, international coalitions have demonstrated significant success in infiltrating and dismantling encrypted communications networks, underscoring potential for continued crackdowns on sophisticated tools used by organised crime groups.