International Journal on Criminology Volume 3, Number 2, Fall 2015 | Page 51

International Journal on Criminology
4 - Scandinavia
The Scandinavian countries have long considered themselves the champions of
a humane approach to imprisonment and the treatment of prisoners. 112 However, today
we see barbed wire surrounding high security facilities, where ten years ago there were
no fences at all.
For Swedish officials, this situation is a direct consequence of prison gang
activity 113 including groups called the Brödraskapet (or the “Wolfpack Brotherhood”) 114
and the Original Gangsters. They are responsible for drug trafficking and pervasive
violence, among other things. The “Original Gangsters” (OG) gang was created by
Denho Acar in Gothenburg in 1993. Born in 1974, he arrived in Sweden with his family
in 1985. Acar was convicted of armed robbery in 1994. He took advantage of his stay in
prison to recruit new members and forge ties with the Brödraskapet. The OG has some
one hundred members, mostly in the Gothenburg area, involved in affairs of extortion,
robbery, drugs and murder. The gang was in conflict with the Bandidos MC and the
Naserligan gang. 115 In 2006, Acar fled Sweden to avoid prosecution for arson. He carried
out his military service in Turkey 116 while continuing to lead his gang via contacts with
men he trusted.
In Sweden, there had never been a murder in prison until 1993, when a
prisoner was stabbed in a maximum security area. Between 1993 and 2003, five other
murders were committed 117 and today violence is endemic in prisons; this explains the
increasingly harsh measures that the authorities have taken, albeit reluctantly. In August
2008, the Swedish magazine Expressen 118 published a list of thirteen criminals thought
to be the main organized crime bosses in Sweden. Among them were four prison gang
members: Geofrey Kitutu, 34, leader of the Original Gangsters, already convicted of
drug and weapons offenses; Jeremy Kazcynski, 25, leader of the “15–7” gang, 119 linked
to the Original Gangsters, who was arrested in July 2009 for drug trafficking, but
already known to the authorities for assault and robbery; Pasi Kopra, 35, Chairman of
the Wolfpack Brotherhood, sentenced to life imprisonment for an attack on a Public
Prosecutor, and Denho Dano Acar. The latter recently had his residence permit revoked
by the Swedish immigration authorities and his new situation may change the direction
of the Original Gangsters. 120
112
Fouche, Gwladys. “Where convicts lead the good life.” Global Post, October 19, 2009.
113
First, the extension of outside groups, such as outlawed motorcycle gangs, mainly the Hells Angels
and the Bandidos, now supplanted by bands of immigrants from the suburbs of major cities, according
to a Prison Service and Parole Board report from 2001.
114
The largest prison gang in Sweden.
115
Composed of Macedonians and Albanians.
116
He kept his original nationality.
117
Karl Ritter. AP, June 8, 2003.
118
Expressen, August 29, 2008
119
15th and 7th letters of the alphabet, O.G.
120
Expressen, October 17, 2009.
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