18-year-old recruited for bombing in Södertälje – saved by conversation with mother
An 18-year-old agreed to carry out a bombing assignment in Södertälje but had second thoughts and contacted police through his mother. Two men sentenced to prison for the recruitment attempt.
Hotel room in Almnäs became the starting point for foiled bombing plot
An 18-year-old man from the Jönköping area was in a hotel room in Almnäs in Södertälje in April. He had agreed to carry out a bombing against two addresses in the city – an assignment that would earn him approximately 70,000 kronor. This is reported by SVT Nyheter.
During the afternoon of 9 April, he began messaging his mother. In the messages, he described the assignment and his fear of what would happen if he withdrew.
"I have agreed to something really serious that I can't back out of now," the son wrote to his mother.
Shortly after, he shared his location with her. They also spoke on the phone and together decided that the police should be contacted. Police intervened at the hotel and placed the 18-year-old under arrest.
District court acquits 18-year-old
In the ruling, the district court established that although the man had accepted the assignment, he subsequently voluntarily helped police stop the plans. This led to his acquittal.
A total of five men were charged with recruiting the 18-year-old. They are alleged to have provided transport, money, hotel accommodation and equipment among other things. Of these, two – a 20-year-old and a 28-year-old – are sentenced to one year and eleven months in prison each for complicity in serious destruction of property endangering the public. The district court determines that it was these two who actively attempted to recruit the 18-year-old.
The other three men are acquitted. The court considers it unproven that they knew their assistance was connected to the bombing plans, despite having participated in various ways.
Connection to the Peppar network and the conflict in Södertälje
According to reports, the bombing plans are linked to the Peppar network, which has close ties to the Dalen network and more recently also to Saltskog faction in Södertälje.
Since 2022, a violent conflict has been ongoing between two criminal networks in the city. They are commonly referred to as Ronna faction and Saltskog faction, after the districts where several leading figures have been based. Police use the designations Network Södertälje and Network Telge respectively.
The conflict concerns, among other things, drug trafficking and power positions in the criminal environment. It has been linked to several murders and attempted murders. In autumn 2022, three people were shot dead and three were injured in five shootings over the course of two weeks.
Other networks with connections to Södertälje
Not all criminal groups in Södertälje belong to one of the two sides. Police have also identified individuals and groups with connections to the districts of Hovsjö and Fornhöjden.
There are also connections to networks outside Södertälje. The Peppar network in Stockholm has, according to police, a strong alliance with the Dalen network, and has more recently also formed ties with Saltskog. The Foxtrot network has also had connections to Södertälje – in 2023, police found 38 weapons and close to 100 kilograms of narcotics in a garage linked to the network.
The criminal environment in Södertälje is not divided into two fixed camps. Individuals can be imprisoned, new ones can take their place and collaborations can change over time. This makes it not always possible to establish which side a person belongs to – or whether the person belongs to any of the established groups at all.
Source: SVT Nyheter