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CRIME

New arrest in Mikael Andersson murder case

A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of Mikael Andersson from Lidköping. The police are now holding five people in custody in connection with the murder of the 19-year-old whose body has still not been found.

Published: 25 May 2008 10:12 CEST

Mikael Andersson, from Lidköping in western Sweden, disappeared from a party in Axvall outside of Skara last weekend.

His family reported him missing on Tuesday. Following an inspection of his battered car police began a murder investigation on Thursday.

Västra Götaland police announced in a press release on Friday that they are certain that Mikael Andersson has been murdered and that they had arrested four people in connection with the investigation.

“We have strong indications that he has been murdered,” confirmed police spokesperson Thomas Fuxborg.

One man is in custody on suspicion of murder and two further men suspected of complicity to murder. A woman has been arrested on suspicion of harbouring a criminal.

A further, fifth person, was arrested on Saturday. He is being detained on suspicion of complicity to murder.

All five deny the charges.

Police are continuing the search for the body of Mikael Andersson over the weekend. Police have confirmed that they have identified the murder scene but have not released any further details of the crime or the roles played by the five suspects.

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.

Published: 20 September 2024 10:31 CEST
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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