– What we are looking at now is running the entire line out to reach the source. We are trying to get answers to who manufactured the weapon and who then brought it into Sweden, says Johan Gustafsson, criminal inspector at the National Firearms Center.
The Police Agency, the Customs Agency and the Public Prosecutor’s Office have, on behalf of the previous government, worked out new methods for increased cooperation and a focus on the sources of the supply of weapons.
Aren’t you late for this?
– Within the police and Customs, it is new that they work based on an ability-based approach instead of starting from a fixed organisation. I don’t think we are late, but rather pioneers, says Johan Gustafsson.
More efficient work
The closer cooperation has developed over the past year and the police see several ongoing cases as a direct effect of the cooperation between authorities both in Sweden and internationally, although a larger analysis is needed to say for sure that it is the new method that has given the positive the results.
– The feeling is that seizures will be even higher in 2023. This is partly due to the fact that we are now cooperating between authorities and that we have become more efficient, says Johan Gustafsson.
Several cases in progress
The number of seizures reached a record in 2022. Together, the police and customs stopped 1,874 weapons and weapon parts. The number of people who were detained for serious weapons crimes has also increased from 323 detained in 2021 to 384 in 2022.
– We have several cases with an international connection that have not yet been concluded, says Johan Gustafsson.
The most common is that weapons are smuggled in from other countries and the sources are usually outside Sweden’s borders. Therefore, better cooperation with other countries’ authorities is also required in order to eliminate the supply of weapons, according to the police.
– We publish information and ask questions to other countries in order to find loopholes.