Sweden is suffering a grim wave of gang violence
The country has Scandinavia’s highest rate of shootings and bombings
ON OCTOBER 15TH thousands of followers of 5iftyy, a Swedish rapper, tuned into his Instagram channel for what he said would be an important livestream. They found themselves watching a bearded man brandish a gold-plated AK-47 while hurling insults at rival gang members, backed by three rifle-toting thugs in balaclavas. The man with the golden gun was Mustafa “Benzema” Aljiburi, a leading member of a Swedish narcotics network known as Foxtrot. Mr Aljiburi is believed to be living in Iraq. He staged the appearance to dispel rumours of his death and to threaten various enemies, including a Swedish prosecutor.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Gang of rivals”
Europe November 18th 2023
From the November 18th 2023 edition
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