Four men linked to a Swedish organized crime group were turned away at the border this summer.
Composite image mbl.is/Eggert/Colourbox
Four individuals were denied entry at Iceland’s borders this summer because they belonged to a foreign criminal group specializing in violence-for-hire—offering their services to carry out serious violent offenses for payment.
This is stated in a report on organized crime issued by the National Commissioner of Police. According to Sunnefa Völundardóttir, an analyst with the police’s intelligence unit, the men were part of a Swedish criminal group.
Violence-for-hire becoming an international problem
Völundardóttir, one of the report’s authors, tells mbl.is that violence-for-hire has been closely associated with Sweden, where such incidents have increased, particularly over the past two years. The trend now appears to be shifting from local violence-for-hire to a growing international phenomenon.
“The fact that Icelandic authorities are turning away at our borders a Swedish criminal group specializing in these serious violent acts shows that this is becoming an international issue. It also shows how Iceland is moving closer to the orbit of foreign criminal networks, given that such a group was being summoned here,” she says.
Youth recruited to commit violent acts
Asked about communication between groups in these cases, she says it generally takes place through encrypted messaging apps. However, recruitment of young people to carry out crimes is also increasing, often through various social media platforms.
She mentions a recent example involving an attack on a police officer’s home.
“That is another incident we associate with violence-for-hire. He was threatened at his home by young, armed individuals. There were indications that they had been recruited for the job,” Völundardóttir says.
“These are signs that this methodology is increasingly reaching Iceland, and especially involving young individuals—though we are not seeing much of it, certainly nothing on the scale seen in Sweden.”
Perpetrators may also be victims
She notes that Iceland is now working closely with Europol member states. Authorities must respond firmly to methods of criminal groups that are rapidly spreading, but cases involving violence-for-hire also require a different approach.
“If these are young people recruited to commit violence, then there are other offenders behind them. So a different lens is needed. In some cases, the perpetrators are also victims,” she says.
Icelandic group among Europe’s most dangerous
The police report states that Iceland hosts both foreign groups linked to international criminal networks and Icelandic groups—including one that has been considered among the most dangerous criminal groups in Europe, though police have not disclosed which group it is.
“The point we wanted to emphasize is that while there are many foreign groups and international connections, we also see Icelandic offenders linked to foreign networks—and in this case, the group is Icelandic,” Völundardóttir says.
“The landscape here shows that we have dangerous groups that are Icelandic as well,” she concludes.