A large number of Swedish-led, international police raids against digital recruitment and coordination of violent crimes led to 280 arrests at the end of April. Among the arrests about half a dozen children age 10 to 12.
The numbers were confirmed by Sweden’s police national operations department (Noa) on 29 April 2026. The police operation dealt with suspects in a network that was offering “violence as a service”. Of the 280 people arrested, 120 to 130 of them are suspected of carrying out criminal activities in Sweden. Among the arrests were six so-called “high-prioritised individuals”, which normally means leader in known organised crime networks.
Operation launched in April 2025
Police personnel say they have identified 14,000 internet accounts connected to digital recruitment and coordination of violent crimes. Apart from the Swedish police, law enforcement units of Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain and France were involved in the operation that was launched a year earlier, in April 2025. | © 2026 Marcel Burger, nordicreporter.com. Featured image: the arm of a Swedish police officer, with the Polis emblem clearly visible (Photo: Marcel Burger)