The police see an increase in the number of crimes committed by international criminal networks in Sweden.
- The overall picture is that it goes up a bit from year to year, says Jesper Kotander, group manager at the intelligence unit at the police's National Operations Department (Noa)
The scheme is often organized from the home countries - then criminals are appointed to commit the crimes.
The chosen ones travel to Sweden for targeted theft tours, and the stolen goods are taken abroad for sale.
According to Jesper Kotander, well-organized networks often have contact persons in Sweden who help with housing, cars and geographical knowledge.
- We see examples of people starting to commit thefts already the night after they have arrived in Sweden, he says.
"A constant hunt"
The police estimate that international criminal networks from mainly other EU countries account for up to 90 percent of all thefts of car parts, premium cars and navigation equipment in agricultural machines committed in Sweden.
Catalysts are also a common theft, but there are signs that domestic performers are also responsible for some of the crimes.
The police have a good picture of the networks and work a lot with the preventive work to prevent the thefts before they are committed.
But crime is complex and consumes resources.
- It's a constant hunt.
Organized crime is extremely good at adapting, says Jesper Kotander.
Want to see increased resources
The fact that the networks move between different countries also complicates the work.
On 1 August, the Swedish Customs received new powers that make it possible to intervene if they suspect that stolen goods are about to leave the country.
- The Swedish Customs has no figures but we are at the border and it is the general opinion that this is an increased problem, we see suspected stolen goods leaving the country via our ports, says Henrik Sjökvist, unit manager at the control department south of the Swedish Customs.
Jesper Kotander at Noa believes that the police would need additional resources on the investigation side and for the border police.
- We have a challenge.
We have free movement via Schengen and we will maintain that.
However, we must become better at identifying those who come here only to commit crimes, he says.
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Learn how the international theft leagues work, step by step, in the video above Photo: Storyblocks