Latest news with #IsmailAbdo
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Notorious Swedish gang leader arrested in Turkey
One of Sweden's most wanted gang leaders, Ismail Abdo, has been arrested in Turkey, the Swedish prosecutor's office said on Friday. The dual Swedish-Turkish national has an extensive list of drug-related charges against him according to the global police agency, Interpol. The 35-year-old, nicknamed The Strawberry, is a well-known leader of the Rumba crime gang in Sweden. He is accused of orchestrating illegal operations from abroad and has been the subject of an Interpol red notice since last year. Swedish police did not identify him, but confirmed the arrest of a man "suspected of having engaged in serious drug trafficking and inciting serious violent crimes" for many years in Sweden. He was one of 19 people who were arrested during raids in Turkey, where officers seized more than a tonne of drugs, state broadcaster TRT reported. Exactly where the raids took place has not been revealed. Arrest warrants were issued for a further 21 suspects, of whom 14 were believed to be abroad and three already in custody on other charges. Four are still at large, TRT added. Turkish authorities reportedly seized assets worth around 1.5bn Turkish lira (£27.8m; $38m), including 20 vehicles, bank accounts and 51 real estate properties. Gang violence in Sweden has escalated in recent years, in part because Abdo's former friend, Rawa Majida, is the leader of a rival gang, Foxtrot. Many people have been killed since their deadly turf war began. It entered a new, violent chapter in 2023 when Abdo's mother was murdered in her home in Uppsala, north of the capital, Stockholm. The escalation prompted the government to bring in the army to help tackle the surge in gang killings. In 2024, Turkish police arrested Abdo during a traffic stop, but released him on bail despite the active Interpol red notice against him - a move which drew criticism from Swedish authorities who were seeking to extradite Abdo. The increase in gang violence that has plagued some of Sweden's biggest cities and spread to quieter suburbs and towns has shattered its reputation as a safe and peaceful nation. Lat year, Sweden's security service, Sapo, accused Iran of recruiting Swedish gang members to carry out attacks on Israeli or Jewish interests. In October, a 13-year-old boy fired shots outside the offices of Israeli tech firm Elbit Systems. Israel's embassies in Sweden and Denmark were also both targeted. Sweden's centre-right governing coalition, which promised to end the gang crime wave when it was elected in 2022, will see Abdo's capture as a win. However the fact that he is also a Turkish citizen could complicate the extradition process. An estimated 14,000 people in Sweden are caught up in criminal gangs, according to a police report last year, and a further 48,000 people are said to be connected to them. Teenage guns for hire: Swedish gangs targeting Israeli interests Three people killed in shooting in Sweden Six people arrested after three shot dead in Sweden
BBC News
04-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Ismail Abdo: Rumba gang leader arrested in Turkey
One of Sweden's most wanted gang leaders, Ismail Abdo, has been arrested in Turkey, the Swedish prosecutor's office said on dual Swedish-Turkish national has an extensive list of drug-related charges against him according to the global police agency, 35-year-old, nicknamed The Strawberry, is a well-known leader of the Rumba crime gang in Sweden. He is accused of orchestrating illegal operations from abroad and has been the subject of an Interpol red notice since last police did not identify him, but confirmed the arrest of a man "suspected of having engaged in serious drug trafficking and inciting serious violent crimes" for many years in Sweden. He was one of 19 people who were arrested during raids in Turkey, where officers seized more than a tonne of drugs, state broadcaster TRT reported. Exactly where the raids took place has not been warrants were issued for a further 21 suspects, of whom 14 were believed to be abroad and three already in custody on other charges. Four are still at large, TRT authorities reportedly seized assets worth around 1.5bn Turkish lira (£27.8m; $38m), including 20 vehicles, bank accounts and 51 real estate violence in Sweden has escalated in recent years, in part because Abdo's former friend, Rawa Majida, is the leader of a rival gang, people have been killed since their deadly turf war began. It entered a new, violent chapter in 2023 when Abdo's mother was murdered in her home in Uppsala, north of the capital, escalation prompted the government to bring in the army to help tackle the surge in gang 2024, Turkish police arrested Abdo during a traffic stop, but released him on bail despite the active Interpol red notice against him - a move which drew criticism from Swedish authorities who were seeking to extradite increase in gang violence that has plagued some of Sweden's biggest cities and spread to quieter suburbs and towns has shattered its reputation as a safe and peaceful year, Sweden's security service, Sapo, accused Iran of recruiting Swedish gang members to carry out attacks on Israeli or Jewish interests. In October, a 13-year-old boy fired shots outside the offices of Israeli tech firm Elbit Systems. Israel's embassies in Sweden and Denmark were also both centre-right governing coalition, which promised to end the gang crime wave when it was elected in 2022, will see Abdo's capture as a win. However the fact that he is also a Turkish citizen could complicate the extradition estimated 14,000 people in Sweden are caught up in criminal gangs, according to a police report last year, and a further 48,000 people are said to be connected to them.
CBS News
04-07-2025
- CBS News
One of Sweden's most wanted criminals is arrested 1,600 miles away, police say
At least 10 killed in mass shooting in Sweden At least 10 killed in mass shooting in Sweden At least 10 killed in mass shooting in Sweden The head of one of Sweden's biggest crime organizations, accused of instigating a surge in violent crime, has been arrested more than 1,600 miles away in Turkey, Swedish police said on Friday. Police did not identify the man by name but Swedish media named him as 35-year-old Ismail Abdo, head of the Rumba crime organization and alleged to have been orchestrating operations from abroad. Abdo is one of Sweden's most wanted criminals and the subject of an international arrest warrant since 2024. The Scandinavian country, once known for its low crime rates, has struggled for years to rein in organized crime. Criminal networks are involved in drug and arms trafficking, welfare fraud, and regular shootings and bombings that have plagued the country in recent years. The networks are also reported to have infiltrated Sweden's welfare sector, local politics, legal and education system as well as juvenile detention care. Ismail Abdo Interpol Police say the leaders of the criminal networks increasingly operate from abroad, orchestrating murders and attacks via social media and often recruiting young children under the age of criminal responsibility to carry out the attacks. Abdo once led the Foxtrot crime network together with Rawa Majid -- Sweden's other most wanted criminal who was sanctioned earlier this year by the U.S. Treasury -- and the two are suspected of having controlled large parts of the Swedish drug market. But the pair fell out, and a new, violent chapter in Sweden's gang wars began when Abdo's mother was murdered in September 2023 at her home in Uppsala, the BBC reported. Abdo's Rumba gang has since waged a violent feud against Majid and Foxtrot. Abdo was arrested in a raid conducted by Turkish security forces, police said. "In a law enforcement operation in Turkey, Turkish police have today arrested a Swedish man who for many years has been suspected of drug-related crimes and instigating serious violent crimes in Sweden," police said in a statement. "The arrest is the result of targeted work over time between Turkish and Swedish judicial systems," Mats Berggren, acting deputy chief at the Swedish police's National Operations Department (NOA), said in the statement. Recent violence in Sweden Sweden has been plagued by violence in recent months. In April, three youths aged 15 to 20 were killed in a shooting in broad daylight at a hair salon in central Uppsala, about 45 miles north of Stockholm. Police officers are seen at a crime scene in central Uppsala, Sweden on April 30, 2025. Three people were killed on April 29, 2025 in a shooting in Uppsala, a city north of Sweden's capital Stockholm, police said. FREDRIK SANDBERG/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Images Just days before that, a mother and her young child were severely injured when a homemade bomb tore through their home, media reported, adding that a neighbor suspected of ties to criminal gangs had been the real target. Earlier in April, two people were killed in a suspected gang fight in Gothenburg, while a renowned rapper was shot dead in a gang battle in the city in December. Sweden was also rocked by its worst mass shooting in February when 35-year-old Rickard Andersson entered the Campus Risbergska adult education center in the city of Orebro and shot dead 10 people before turning the gun on himself. The Swedish government has proposed new legislation that would allow police to wiretap children under the age of 15 in an attempt to curb the violence, according to the BBC. According to global database Statista, Sweden had the third highest number of homicides involving firearms per 100,000 inhabitants in Europe in 2022, behind Montenegro and Albania. Data from Sweden's National Council for Crime Prevention show that shootings have declined since the peak year 2022 but the number of explosions have increased.
Rudaw Net
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Swedish gang leader arrested in Turkey
Also in World UN nuclear watchdog inspectors leave Iran US sanctions Iraqi network over Iranian oil smuggling Kurdistan's Zakho, Minnesota's Moorhead forge friendship pact US renews call on Baghdad to 'rein in' pro-Iran militia groups A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish police have arrested Ismail Abdo, a Swedish gang leader and former associate of the Kurdish Fox wanted internationally for drug trafficking and violent crimes. Abdo was caught with 19 others in an investigation by Turkish and Swedish law enforcement. 'Turkish police have in a police operation in Turkey today arrested a Swedish man who for many years is suspected of having conducted serious drug crimes and instigated serious violent crimes in Sweden,' read a statement from Sweden's police on Friday. 'The arrest is a result of targeted work over time between Turkish and Swedish judiciary. Swedish police have contributed to the investigative work that led to the arrest," Mats Berggren, acting deputy chief at Sweden's National Operations Department was quoted as saying in the statement. The investigation targeted three criminal organizations - one led by Abdo - resulting in the arrest of 19 suspects for drug trafficking and money laundering, according to Turkey's state-owned Anadolu Agency, which named Abdo as one of those arrested. The multi-city operation took place in Istanbul, Adana, Mersin, Mugla and Antalya. The joint operation also led to the seizure of 1.4 tons of drugs in Sweden. Ismail Abdo, born in Uppsala, Sweden in 1990 and often referred to by his nickname 'Jordgubben' (The Strawberry), has been a central figure in Sweden's escalating gang conflicts. His nickname stems from his family's business importing strawberries into Sweden. He is known for leading the internationally-active Rumba criminal network, which has been in a deadly feud with the Foxtrot network, led by his former close ally Rawa Majid, also known as 'the Kurdish Fox.' The conflict led to Abdo's mother being killed by Foxtrot in September 2023. Rawa Majid remains a fugitive and there have been reports from Sweden's intelligence agency SAPO that he works with the Iranian government. Abdo is also linked to the murder of Harris Lars Osterdahl in Bosnia-Herzegovina and international drug trafficking using the encrypted "Anom" communication program. A Turkish citizen, Abdo was arrested last year in Turkey for possession of a firearm. He was released on bail, despite being sought by Sweden. He was also wanted in Norway on suspicion of involvement in murder plots and drug offenses. Earlier this year, Interpol added him to its list of the world's most wanted criminals. Swedish authorities have long sought Abdo's arrest, pursuing extensive cooperation with Turkey, according to Swedish media SVT. Due to his Turkish citizenship, Sweden has also pursued a transferred prosecution, which would allow him to be tried in Turkey instead of Sweden.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Turkey arrests one of Sweden's most-wanted suspected gang leaders
By Johan Ahlander and Ezgi Erkoyun STOCKHOLM/ISTANBUL (Reuters) -One of Sweden's most-wanted suspected gang leaders was taken into custody in Turkey on Friday during a raid on suspected drug traffickers, in what Swedish police described as a major success in the battle against organised crime. "The arrest is the result of targeted work over time between the Turkish and Swedish judicial systems," Swedish police said in a statement. The statement did not identify the suspect, but a Swedish police source and Turkey's TRT Haber state television broadcaster said he was Ismail Abdo, 35, a Swedish-Turkish dual citizen. More than 12 people have been killed in Sweden since 2023, including Abdo's mother, in what police have described as a gang war between Abdo and a former ally. TRT Haber reported that Abdo was among 19 suspects detained as part of a major investigation into organised criminal groups involved in international drug trafficking and money laundering. Authorities also seized assets worth around 1.5 billion Turkish lira ($38 million). Arrest warrants were issued for a further 21 suspects, with four still at large, 14 believed to be abroad and three already in custody on other charges. In Sweden, the capture of Abdo will provide a major boost for the police and for the right-wing government, which won the 2022 election on a promise to stop a gang crime wave that has plagued the country for over a decade.
