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CRIME

Swede arrested over shooting of teenager in Denmark

A 34-year-old Swedish citizen has been arrested on suspicion of shooting 16-year-old Servet Abdija in Copenhagen in October last year.

Swede arrested over shooting of teenager in Denmark
People at the scene of the shooting of Servet Abdija in October last year. Photo: Sofie Mathiassen/Ritzau Scanpix

The suspect was arrested in Zealand on suspicion of the teenager’s murder and was remanded in custody for 25 days on Friday afternoon, broadcaster DR reports.

The man was assisted by a Swedish-speaking interpreter at the preliminary hearing, DR writes. He is reported to be a Swedish citizen with heritage in the former Yugoslavia.

Part of the preliminary hearing was conducted behind closed doors, but the 34-year-old is reported to be under suspicion of killing Abdija as well as possessing weapons.

The arrest in Zealand has been planned by police for some time, DR writes, with the man having been placed under arrest in absentia in July this year.

A number of police raids in southern Sweden have also been carried out as part of the investigation, in which both Danish and Swedish investigators have participated.

Last month, weapons connected to the crime came into police possession.

Teenager Abidja died after being shot six times at close range on October 16th last year near his family’s home on the border of Copenhagen’s Nørrebro and Østerbro districts. His mother is reported to have heard the shots being fired from inside the family apartment.

Three masked men, who were dressed in black, were subsequently seen fleeing the scene on foot. They are thought to have waited for the victim for around 45 minutes before the attack.

The day before the shooting, three masked men were seen in the same area, where they were in contact with a fourth man in a dark car.

The victim was not known to have any connections to criminal networks in the Danish capital, police previously told DR.

Lead investigator Hans Erik Raben told news agency Ritzau on Friday that further arrests in the case were possible.

“There is still much investigation to be done in this case and we are continuing our work unabated. So we will see whether there are further arrests. I certainly wouldn’t rule it out,” Raben said.

READ ALSO: Danish police find weapons used to kill teenager in Copenhagen

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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