A man in his 20s from Gävleborg county has been arrested, suspected of the murder of gang leader Mustafa Aljiburi, also called “Benzema”.
The man has previously been convicted of a crime and is linked to the gang environment, according to information from TV4 Nyheterna.
– This problem is starting to spread more and more abroad, says criminologist Jerzy Sarnecki.
Gang boss Mustafa “Benzema” Aljiburi, who previously had a high-ranking role in the criminal network Foxtrot, was murdered on Monday in a car in Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, according to information from TV4 Nyheterna.
A young Swedish man in his 20s from Gävleborg County has been arrested on suspicion of murdering the gang leader, according to TV4 News. He is said to have opened fire from a motorcycle, and fled the scene after the fatal shooting, according to Iraqi media.
Sources at the scene tell TV4 Nyheterna that it took time to interrogate the suspect because he does not speak Arabic.
Posing with automatic weapons
The man, who was arrested after a police chase in Baghdad, is already known to the police. Among other things, he has been sentenced for several cases of drug offenses and serious weapons offences. A few years ago, he was sentenced to closed youth care for serious weapons offences. When the police emptied his phone, pictures of quantities of drugs and weapons were found.
The photos from the police’s preliminary investigation show him posing with an automatic weapon in the passenger seat of a car, wearing a protective vest and waving thick wads of bills. In one of the police’s photos, he has photographed a sink filled with five hundred notes.
The arrested Swede also figures in a murder investigation in Gävleborg county where a young man was shot dead in early 2022. The murder is linked to the local criminal environment, and is believed to have been part of a conflict over the drug market.
Relatives receive police protection
On Tuesday afternoon reported Swedish daily newspaper that two more Swedes have been arrested after the fatal shooting.
The police now fear that more revenge actions may take place after the shooting death of “Benzema”. Today the police are guarding the home where relatives of the suspected murderer live.
– This problem is starting to spread more and more abroad, which means that we can expect more such incidents, because these gang members are spread all over the world, says criminologist Jerzy Sarnecki to TV4 Nyheterna.
The police are guarding homes linked to the suspected murderer. Photo: GOBITEN
The police are guarding homes linked to the suspected murderer. Photo: GOBITEN
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “Knows the information”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that the information about the arrest has reached them.
“We are aware of information that a Swedish citizen has been detained in Iraq. The embassy in Baghdad is investigating the information in contact with local authorities,” writes the Foreign Ministry to TV4 Nyheterna.
Mustafa “Benzema” Aljiburi has described as Rawa Majid’s right-hand man. He has been singled out in several serious drug investigations, for having controlled trade in Sweden. However, he has not been able to be prosecuted or sentenced.