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CRIME

Denmark’s police launch push to disband Bandidos biker gang

Denmark's police have launched an investigation aimed at disbanding the Danish branch of the notorious Bandidos biker gang, which has been blamed for a string of crimes since it was established 30 years ago.

Published: 2 June 2023 15:47 CEST
Denmark's police launch push to disband Bandidos biker gang
A Bandidos banner hangs on the gang's clubhouse on Industriparken 31 in Jyderup in northwest Zealand. Photo: Ritzau/Scanpix

Denmark’s justice minister, Peter Hummelgaard, announced the investigation’s launch in a press release on Friday, saying that he looked “very positively” at the National Unit for Special Crime seeking authorisation from the chief of police to launch the investigation. 

In 2021, Denmark’s Supreme Court ruled that the Loyal To Familia gang could be disbanded under law, making it punishable to wear the gang’s symbols, for instance. 

For the Bandidos gang to be similarly disbanded the police and prosecutor’s office must show that there is sufficient evidence that the organisation has an “illegal purpose” to overcome the right to free assembly enshrined within the Danish constitution. 

The Bandidos gang, formed in San Leon, Texas, as far back as 1966, and expanded into Europe in 1989, setting up in Denmark in 1993. It now has branches and clubhouses in several places in Denmark. 

According to the press release the National Unit for Special Crime hopes to complete its investigation by the end of the year. 

Both the US Department of Justice and Europol, the EU police coordination body, describe the Bandidos to be a criminal organisation.

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CRIME

Five residents at Denmark’s Kærshovedgård expulsion centre convicted in drugs case

Five residents of Denmark’s Kærshovedgård Departure Centre have been convicted on serious drugs charges.

Published: 19 September 2024 11:42 CEST
Five residents at Denmark’s Kærshovedgård expulsion centre convicted in drugs case

Four men and one woman resident from Kærshovedgård were found guilty in a major drugs case at Herning District Court on Thursday.

The men were each sentenced to eight years in prison, while the woman received a five-year sentence, regional media TV Midtvest reported.

Court proceedings in the extensive case have been ongoing since January, with more court days required than initially planned.

Police used wiretaps and other methods to gather evidence in the case, according to TV Midtvest.

Central and West Jutland Police announced last summer that more than half a million kroner in cash had been seized during the arrests.

Located 13 kilometres from Ikast in Jutland, the Kærshovedgård facility is one of two deportation centres in Denmark used to house rejected male and female asylum seekers who have not agreed to voluntary return, as well as persons with so-called ‘tolerated stay’ (tålt ophold) status.

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The residents do not have permission to reside in Denmark but many cannot be forcibly deported because Denmark has no diplomatic relations or return agreements with their home countries.

Kærshovedgård houses people who have not committed crimes but have no legal right to stay in Denmark, for example due to a rejected asylum claim; as well as foreign nationals with criminal records who have served their sentences but are awaiting deportation.

It first became prominent in the mid-2010s, when it received criticism for imposing conditions that could lead to mental illnesses in residents.

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