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CRIME

Two bodies found in trunk of burning car

Two dead bodies have been found in the trunk of a burned out car near Getinge between Halmstad and Falkenberg in western Sweden, prompting police to launch a murder investigation.

Two bodies found in trunk of burning car

Shortly after 11pm on Wednesday night, emergency crews received a call about a car on fire on a bridge over the E6 motorway near Getinge.

The fire was intense, catching the attention of motorists passing by below on the E6.

Police initially reported that one person had been found in the trunk, but on Thursday morning police confirmed media reports that an additional body had been found in the wreckage.

The car was a red Volvo S60, but police are refusing to say if they know to whom the car was registered or whether they had contacted the owner.

According to the Svergies Radio’s local affiliate in Halland, one of the victims was a man, while the gender of the second victim remains unknown.

Police have released a statement requesting any eyewitnesses to come forward with information about the fire, which broke out shortly after 11pm on Wednesday night.

“The information we’re looking for includes sightings at the time of the fire or just before,” police spokesperson Caroline Bjerlestam told the TT news agency.

When emergency services had extinguished the flames they discovered the first body in the boot of the car.

“Because the person was found in the luggage trunk we can’t rule out that a serious crime has been committed,” lead investigator Håkan Andersson told the Kvällsposten newspaper.

“In order to not miss anything in the early stages of the investigation, we’ve launched a preliminary investigation into murder.”

The area has been blocked off and a forensic investigation was carried out. Later during the night, the charred remains of the car were moved to Halmstad to allow for a more thorough examination.

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CRIME

Nordic justice ministers meet tech giants on gangs using apps to hire ‘child soldiers’

The justice ministers of Denmark, Sweden and Norway are to meet representatives of the tech giants Google, Meta, Snapchat and TikTok, to discuss how to stop their platforms being used by gang criminals in the region.

Nordic justice ministers meet tech giants on gangs using apps to hire 'child soldiers'

Denmark’s justice minister, Peter Hummelgaard, said in a press release that he hoped to use the meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss how to stop social media and messaging apps being used by gang criminals, who Danish police revealed earlier this year were using them to recruit so-called “child soldiers” to carry out gang killings.  

“We have seen many examples of how the gangs are using social media and encrypted messaging services to plan serious crimes and recruit very young people to do their dirty work,” Hummelgaard said. “My Nordic colleagues and I agree that a common front is needed to get a grip on this problem.”

As well as recruitment, lists have been found spreading on social media detailing the payments on offer for various criminal services.   

Hummelgaard said he would “insist that the tech giants live up to their responsibilities so that their platforms do not act as hotbeds for serious crimes” at the meeting, which will take place at a summit of Nordic justice ministers in Uppsala, Sweden.

In August, Hummelgaard held a meeting in Copenhagen with Sweden’s justice minister, Gunnar Strömmer, at which the two agreed to work harder to tackle cross-border organised crime, which has seen a series of Swedish youth arrested in Denmark after being recruited to carry out hits in the country. 

According to a press release from the Swedish justice ministry, the morning will be spent discussing how to combat the criminal economy and particularly organised crime in ports, with a press release from Finland’s justice ministry adding that the discussion would also touch on the “undue influence on judicial authorities” from organised crime groups. 

The day will end with a round table discussion with Ronald S Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, on how anti-Semitism and hate crimes against Jews can be prevented and fought in the Nordic region. 

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