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CRIME

‘Notorious Gypsy Boss’ expelled from Denmark

A 46-year-old Croatian said to be the patriach of ‘Denmark’s most criminal family’ was on Thursday sentenced to 15 months in prison and expulsion from the country.

'Notorious Gypsy Boss' expelled from Denmark
"You're speaking with Gimi. The boss of Copenhagen". Levakovic as seen in a clip from a TV2 documentary about his family. Screenshot: TV2
Gimi Levakovic, known in Denmark as ‘the Gypsy boss’ (Sigøjnerbossen), was convicted on charges of having a loading pistol and making death threats by a Næstved court on Thursday and sentenced to 15 months in prison followed by expulsion from Denmark. 
 
The lawyer for Levakovic, who became nationally-known thanks to a TV2 documentary entitled ‘The Gypsy Boss and His Notorious Family’ (Sigøjnerbossen og hans berygtede familie), immediately filed an appeal against the decision. 
 
Levakovic, a Roma from Croatia, is the head of what for many years has been called ‘Denmark’s most criminal family’ and is the self-declared ‘boss’ of the nation’s Romas.
 
According to TV2, the Levakovic family first arrived in Denmark in 1972 and most of the 45-member clan have never had jobs and have instead lived off a mix of welfare benefits and crime. Levakovic’s Facebook page is filled with updates in which he flashily displays large sums of money. In an update posted after his sentence, he had a profane and grammatically-challenged message to Denmark.
 
“Fuck you Denmark and your Danes racist Pia Kjærsgaard [an icon of the Danish People's Party, ed.]. I’m already taking your free money with me; fuck you. But remember Denmark, I’ll be back and it not just me but all of Romania!”, he wrote
 
Three members of the Levakovic family have previously been sent back to Croatia for their crimes, which include home robberies, violence and rape. 
 
The court said on Thursday that Levaokic’s past escapades were a major factor in the decision to kick him out of the country. 
 
“We have given weight to the fact that he has a history with numerous incidents of violence and we believe upon that background that there is a risk that he will continue his criminal activities,” Christian Ankerstjerne, a judge in the case, said in court according to Ekstra Bladet. 
 
For his part, Levakovic claimed that despite his reputation and his propensity to refer to himself as ‘the Boss’, he is actually nothing of the sort. 
 
“After I participated in that programme on TV2, I’ve been portrayed as a mafia boss. I’m not at all a mafia boss or a boss of anything,” he said in court according to Ekstra Bladet. 

CRIME

Why Copenhagen police say crime is on the up in Christiania

Crime in Copenhagen’s hippie enclave of Christiania is increasing, police in the capital say following a number of drugs-related arrests.

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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