Last week, the police in Umeå raided organized drug crime. And just a few days later, ten cars burned in a garage at Tomtebo. In previous car fires, the police have seen clear links to the criminal networks.
"It could be a backlash to our work," says police reconnaissance leader Thomas Palmgren.
Police: Younger people ordered to light fire
There have been several car fires in Umeå in the past year. In August, a garage on Tomtebo caught fire and in October several cars burned in different places. The preliminary investigations have been closed for lack of evidence.
But according to the Umeå police's head of reconnaissance, they have information from various preliminary investigations that criminals burn cars to attract the police.
"We have clear indications that in many cases young people are ordered to commit crimes like this in order to attract the police because they want to do other crimes elsewhere," he says.
Unclear cause of this weekend's fire
At present, there is no suspect in this weekend's fire at Tomtebo or any clear cause of the fire.
"There may be backlash to policing, but it might as well be an evasion for other serious crimes. And in this case, it's too early to say what it might be," Palmgren said.