Three charged in Norwegian drugs network linked to 'Strawberry Man'
Three men have been charged following covert police surveillance of a criminal network based in Moss. The network is linked to Swedish gang leader Ismail 'Strawberry Man' Abdo.
Norwegian drugs network in Moss linked to notorious Swedish gang leader
Three men aged 29, 34 and 35 have been charged following a covert police investigation into an organised criminal network said to have conducted extensive drugs operations in Norway. This is reported by nrk.no, which has also obtained access to Swedish investigation documents linking the network to Swedish gang leader Ismail 'Strawberry Man' Abdo and the Rumba network.
Police conducted covert surveillance of the network throughout 2024 and intercepted conversations about drugs deliveries, weapons, conflicts, robberies and storage facilities.
Millions in drug turnover from Moss
State prosecutor Alvar Randa told nrk.no that the investigation points towards importation, storage and resale of drugs, as well as money laundering of proceeds.
"And then further transfer of money resulting from the drugs operation," said Randa.
A 29-year-old and a 34-year-old, both based in Moss in Østfold, are according to the charges the central figures in the drugs operation. The charges describe the violation as "a very significant quantity", and the prosecution authority states that this concerns a two-digit number of millions of kroner.
"We are talking about quite considerable amounts," confirmed state prosecutor Randa.
The minimum sentence upon conviction for such offences is three years' imprisonment. The drugs were allegedly stored in a freezer at a drugs depot. The prosecution has announced a claim for confiscation of up to 15.8 million kroner, two cars, several mobile phones and a Zoraki pistol.
A fourth person, a 26-year-old man, has been charged with serious money laundering of approximately 10.5 million kroner. He is alleged to have on several occasions in October 2024 received, stored, handed over and/or transported large sums of money. The man's defence lawyer, Lars Mathias Undheim, told nrk.no that the 26-year-old denies criminal liability and rejects having been part of an organised criminal group.
"He knows none of those he is charged together with, and it appears to us arbitrary that the prosecution authority has chosen to charge him together with the others in the case," said Undheim.
The defence lawyers for the 29-year-old and 34-year-old, Øyvind Bratlien and Marius Dietrichson respectively, declined to comment on the case.
Planned robbery of drugs depot near Ikea Furuset and in Sandefjord
The three men aged 29, 34 and 35 are additionally charged with having planned a robbery of a drugs depot belonging to other criminals in October 2024. The 35-year-old is resident in Strömstad in Sweden.
On 5 October 2024, they agreed to meet a man near Ikea Furuset in Oslo to buy one kilogramme of cocaine, according to the charges. The plan was to follow the man to uncover a drugs depot which would then be robbed. Police, who were already monitoring the group, arrested the seller with approximately one kilogramme of cocaine near Ikea. The robbery was thus never carried out.
The following week, they attempted the same thing outside a school in Sandefjord.
"They waited for the person in question outside the aforementioned school in the specified period, but due to misunderstanding with the seller/employer they did not get into position to carry out the robbery and therefore left the location," the charges state.
During a Swedish court case last year, a Norwegian police investigator explained that the motive for the robbery plans was believed to be a storage facility containing approximately 200 kilogrammes of amphetamine.
"They are talking about potentially 200 kilogrammes of amphetamine. That is why they want to rob them," the investigator said in court.
Alexander Greaker, defence lawyer for the Swedish 35-year-old, states that his client denies criminal liability.
The case began with a seizure in Sweden
The investigation was triggered in August 2024 when a car containing approximately 200 kilogrammes of hashish was stopped in Strömstad in Sweden. Norwegian police were notified because the hashish was believed to be destined for the Norwegian market. Following this, covert surveillance of the now accused individuals commenced.
Four men were convicted last year in the Swedish part of the case.
Links to 'Strawberry Man' and the Rumba network
nrk.no has obtained access to a police overview in which 32 people were connected to the network at various times. Swedish investigation documents show that two of those charged in the Norwegian case are said to have had direct contact with Ismail Abdo, leader of the criminal Rumba network.
The Rumba network emerged following a fatal conflict in the Foxtrot network, where Rawa Majid – known as "The Kurdish Fox" – is at the top. Abdo and Majid were formerly close collaborators, but are now declared enemies.
State prosecutor Randa confirms that Abdo has featured in the investigation, but emphasises that he is not part of the charges.
"Now it is in the nature of drugs operations that one generally needs a network to bring large quantities of drugs in and money out. But it is not part of the charges what networks they may have contact with abroad," Randa told nrk.no.
Source: Google News NO — Vold/Narkotika