Explosions and shootings have followed each other since the Christmas weekend, on average there is more than one gang-related crime per day in Stockholm.

The root of large parts of the ongoing wave of violence are battles over the drug market, according to information to SVT.

From a political point of view, "party junkies" have been singled out for fueling gang crime by buying illegal drugs.

Sending bulk SMS

In recent years, several extensive cocaine busts have provided an insight into who buys drugs from the criminal networks.

• Borås: A mass SMS about "top goods" with "top quality" went out to 450 people.

But the police intercepted the sellers' phones and, after reconnaissance, were able to arrest the league.

In January 2023, the six men were sentenced – and also 18 of their buyers.

• Gothenburg: 745 suspected cocaine buyers were identified through phone numbers found in the drug dealers' phones.

The four sellers, with connections to gang crime in Gothenburg, were sentenced in 2021 for serious drug offences.

The buyers revealed in the tangles have varied backgrounds.

It's about everything from social workers and company managers to reality show participants and real estate agents.

"I have understood that they sell a lot but have never reflected on the consequences.

More than I buy from them and they sell to me," says a mother of small children in her 40s in an interview.

Seizures from the cocaine racket in Gothenburg 2021. The police found communication with 897 unique phone numbers via five sales phones - and were able to connect 745 suspected buyers to the numbers.

Photo: The police

A third had children

The police in Gothenburg released overall statistics for the 745 people identified in the cocaine bust.

The average age was 35, 18 percent were women and 36 percent had children under 18.

The majority lived in central Gothenburg or in "affluent areas" and only three percent lived in so-called vulnerable areas.

77 percent of the people were previously unpunished.

“I was going to a dinner in the evening and wanted to be a little happy.

I haven't thought about how dangerous it is and have learned a lesson," says an entrepreneur in his 30s.

Watch the interview with the warden in the player above.