STOCKHOLM IS THE CHICAGO OF NORTHERN EUROPE

Open War In The Underworld

Peaceful Stockholm is well on the way to changing from the Venice of the
North into the Chicago of the North. Gangster wars have taken dozens of
lives already this year. The latest victim was a well known 45 year old
iraqi. He was mown down in broad daylight at the weekend.

Shootouts in cafees, well planned murders in public places, hired killers
,
bomb explosions, bullets in the back of the neck, machine gun fights and
other serious crimes have taken place in Stockholm this year. A common
element in all of these crimes is that they have been carried out by
foreigners or immigrants with connections to the underworld

Smuggling of narcotics and cigarettes as well as the night club business
is behind these violent crimes. Owning a night club is a good way of
laundering dirty money.

n. Joksovic has been named by police as a central person in Stockholms
underground. He was known as the Torpedo King.

There is speculation in the Swedish press that a mob war is in progress
between different gangs and that the Iraqi was murdered in revenge for his
ordering of the murder of Joksovic. This has not been confirmed by the
police.

The murder of Joksovic has been cleared up, but no one believes the young
Finnish killers story that he commited the murder on his own initiative.
He is believed to have been hired to kill the dreaded Joksovic, a close
friend of the Serbian warlord Arkan. Before his bloody career in Bosnia,
Arkan was a criminal in Sweden and there are suspicions he is still
involved in smuggling to Sweden.

Expensive Cigarettes

Even if the police are officially playing down speculations of a war
between criminal gangs, it is a fact that tens of people have been murdered
this year in settlements between criminals.

The warnings that smugglers and crimnal gangs would flourish because of the
high price of cigarettes and alcohol have come true. The Swedish government
has decided to lower the tax on cigarettes. There was a shock rise in
cigarette tax a few years ago and a pack of cigarettes now costs 45 Skr.
But it is probably too late, the gangs are now well established and
according to the Swedish press are at war with each other over the market.

Together with the massive and incredibly profitable cigarette and alcohol
smuggling, increasing quantities of narcotics are coming into Sweden,
usually via the Baltic route.

FNB - Thomas Hojeberg, Vastra Nyland 9.6.98