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CRIME

Swedish students robbed at knifepoint in classroom

Students in a secondary school in the central Swedish city of Västerås were forced to hand over their computers after two knife-wielding robbers entered their classrooom.

Swedish students robbed at knifepoint in classroom
The Rudbeckianska gymnasiet school in Västerås, Sweden, where the robbery took place. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

Just after lunchtime, the pair, both wearing masks, entered a classroom at the Rudbeckianska gymnasiet in Västerås, the newspaper Aftonbladet reported.

But having threatened the students and made off with their haul, they abandoned at least some of them after teachers gave chase, the newspaper added.

Police did not confirm the details of the robbery, but said in a statement that they had been called out after “multiple perpetrators” forced people to hand over “electronics” from the school.

They asked any witnesses to come forward.

A pupil at the school told Aftonbladet that there had been a “pretty large police operation” at the school.

“It was maybe two people,” the pupil added. “The teachers chased after them, and then they threw them (the computers) into the bushes.”

School principal Henrik Pettersson told local radio P4 Västmanland, that while no one had been hurt, the robbers had managed to get the computers from the entire class.

“I have never seen anything like this,” he added.

The TT news agency reported that around 30 students had been in the classroom at the time.

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CRIME

Illegal Swedish strawberry sales raise billions of kronor for organised crime

Swedish police have carried out raids on strawberry vendors suspected of being linked to gang crime.

Illegal Swedish strawberry sales raise billions of kronor for organised crime

Police told Dagens Nyheter that the raids were connected to one of Sweden’s most wanted gang leaders, Ismail Abdo, nicknamed Jordgubben (“The Strawberry”).

In a statement police said they had “hit a central violent actor by targeting individuals around this person and their business structures”.

Raids were carried out in Bergslagen, as well as the Mitt and Stockholm police regions.

It’s suspected that these sellers had been marketing Belgian strawberries as Swedish and using the revenue to fund serious organised crime. Police also found children under the legal working age and migrants without legal residency permits working at the stalls.

Police believe that illegal strawberry sales turn over billions of kronor every year.

“We’ve carried out multiple actions together with other authorities,” Per Lundbäck, from the Bergslagen policing region, told Swedish news agency TT. “By cutting off the finances off this type of organised crime, we can weaken gangs’ financing and their ability to carry out crimes.”

To avoid buying strawberries linked to crime, Lundbäck recommends paying attention to the company you buy your strawberries from.

“The first thing you can do is look at the number the (mobile phone payment app) Swish payment goes to, to make sure it’s a company number starting with 123, and not a private number,” he said.

Most companies will have their Swish number displayed somewhere on the stand, so you should be able to check this even if you don’t have the app and are paying with card, for example.

He also added that you can pay attention to the age of the person selling the strawberries, describing very young sellers as a “red flag”.

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