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CRIME

Man arrested over double killing of Swedes in Copenhagen: report

A 21-year-old man has been arrested in Aarhus in connection with a shooting near Copenhagen earlier this week, in which two Swedish men were killed, according to a Danish newspaper.

Man arrested over double killing of Swedes in Copenhagen: report
The scene of the shooting in Herlev in greater Copenhagen on Tuesday. Photo: Mathias Øgendal / Ritzau Scanpix

A dramatic operation involving armed officers outside an apartment building in the Bispehaven area in Aarhus, Denmark’s second city, led to a man being escorted to a preliminary hearing at Glostrup District Court, daily Ekstra Bladet reports.

Glostrup is close to Copenhagen and the location of the shooting, which took place on Tuesday. A 21-year-old and a 23-year-old, both from Sweden, were killed.

READ ALSO: Two Swedes killed in gang-linked Copenhagen shooting identified

Police declined to comment on the arrest in Aarhus or confirm its connection to the shooting, however.

The preliminary hearing was conducted behind ‘double closed doors’, according to the newspaper’s reporter at the court.

That means no information relating to potential charges will be made public following the hearing.

But the Danish prosecution authority confirmed that step had been taken due to the case “relating to organised gang crime with connections abroad,” Ekstra Bladet writes.

A Swedish interpreter was present at the court.

Swedish daily Expressen has previously reported that the 23-year-old victim was a leading member of a gang known as ‘Snottaz’ from the Rinkeby neighbourhood in Stockholm. The other man was from Tensta, also near the Swedish capital, according to the newspaper.

Copenhagen West Police confirmed on Thursday that they were coordinating with Swedish law enforcement in the investigation of the crime.

The shooting took place on the Sennepshaven road in Herlev, around 12 kilometres northwest of central Copenhagen.

The victims' vehicle was hit by shots at least ten times and both pistols and automatic weapons were probably used, Ritzau reported earlier this week.

READ ALSO: Swedish gang member shot dead in Copenhagen

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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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