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Two Copenhagen men arrested with explosives

One of the arrestees is reportedly a lance corporal in the Danish army, but police are remaining tight-lipped on details and a possible motive.

Published: 24 October 2014 11:26 CEST

Two Copenhagen men arrested with explosives

Police have not released any details on what the explosives might have been planned for. Photo: Politi.dk

Two men were arrested in Copenhagen on Thursday in possession of a kilo of explosives, Copenhagen Police announced on Friday.

According to the police, one of the men is associated with Defence Command Denmark (Forsvaret).

“The arrests took place yesterday morning at 10.01am and 10.21am in Copenhagen. One arrestee is a 33-year-old Dane with Pakistani roots. The other arrestee is a 31-year-old Danish man connected to Defence Command Denmark. Two packages of explosives weighing 500 grams were found, along with a fuse,” Copenhagen Police wrote in a series of tweets.

The two men will be charged with illegal possession of explosives, police said.

DR reported that the 31-year-old is a lance corporal in the Danish army, but police have not confirmed that information.

A police spokesman told TV2 News that the explosives were found at an address in the Copenhagen district of Nørrebro following a lengthy investigation.

Police said that they could not release additional information at this point and that the two men’s preliminary examination would take place behind closed doors.

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Why Copenhagen police say crime is on the up in Christiania

Copenhagen Police arrested three men on Saturday for selling cannabis on Pusher Street in the alternative enclave of Christiania, as they continue their efforts to stamp out the area’s former open-air cannabis market.

According to police, 875 people were arrested for selling cannabis in the first 11 months of 2022, more than in any other year over the past four years.

A possible explanation for the increase in arrests could be that the rewards for operating hash stands have receded, according to a police spokesperson.

“It is extremely unattractive to stand out there, and therefore a lot of new people come in who have no idea what it is all about. Many of them come from outside the catchment area, and some of them are peripherally associated with a criminal group,” Simon Hansen, head of a Copenhagen Police special unit, told newspaper Politiken.

“It’s a bit – in inverted commas – ‘easier’ for us to catch these people,” he said.

Around half of the stalls in the street are linked to various gangs and biker gangs, such as Satudarah, Bandidos, Hells Angels and Loyal To Familia, with the rest run by people living in Christiania, the Berlingske newspaper reported earlier this month.

The trend of rising crime occurs against a background of potential housing develop in Christiania, as the enclave’s residents decide on a plan to put affordable housing in the area.

Copenhagen Police last year told news wire Ritzau that the majority of people who are arrested within Christiania come from socially underprivileged or marginalised backgrounds.

They are exploited in gang and biker circles, resulting in them in some cases operating the illicit hash market stalls, according to the police.

Conflicts between organised crime groups have reportedly become more frequently aired in the Pusher Street market.

READ ALSO: Denmark’s ‘freetown’ Christiania hangs onto soul, 50 years on

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