Large quantities of narcotics are hidden in parking garages and storage rooms in Uppsala.
Now there are alarms that the increasingly extensive drug trade leads to property managers and cleaners being threatened with death by criminals.
– There is a fear among our members, says Kim Nilsson, regional safety representative at the trade union Fastighets.
Large-scale drug trafficking is going on in Uppsala, several verdicts and prosecutions have shown in recent years. Last July, the Svea Court of Appeal ruled in a case concerning “unusually extensive” drug trafficking in the city.
The situation leads, among other things, to property managers and cleaners having an increasingly tough working situation, something, among others, the newspaper Arbetet reported on.
Kim Nilsson, regional security representative at Fastighets, says that the problems are worst during the winter. Then they hide criminal drugs in, for example, parking garages, courtyards and storage rooms.
– We have cases where staff have seen unauthorized people doing something in a basement, or you see cars driving into farms, someone going out to pick up something, for example. The criminals are completely indifferent and don’t care that anyone sees them.
Clearer routines
He feels that the problems have increased sharply since the pandemic – a situation that in some cases leads to death threats to staff.
– It sometimes happens that drugs disappear from the criminals’ hiding places. Then it is easy to blame the real estate staff in the area. It has happened several times.
The trade union wants employers to take greater responsibility. According to Kim Nilsson, many have established routines, for example that the employees should never dispose of drugs themselves and instead make a report and never start discussions with the criminals.
– Many employers do a very good job regarding this, but there are also those who downplay it, you don’t really take it seriously.
Less during spring and summer
When the weather gets warmer, ahead of spring and summer, Kim Nilsson is sure that the situation will improve.
But in the long run, he believes that the situation will worsen, as there are no signs that the drug trade in Uppsala is decreasing.
– I strongly dislike the view that something has to happen before this matter is taken seriously. It is not okay to be threatened with life at work.