Police mapping shows that 120 different criminal networks are active in the capital. 50 of them are linked to narcotics, violence, and weapons.
This emerges from an extensive report by NRK, which has been allowed to accompany the police in a top-secret investigation of what the Oslo police themselves describe as the most important criminal network to stop.
According to intelligence chief Kenneth Wilberg in the Oslo police, around 800 individuals are involved in the 50 most serious networks.
– These are figures that are fluid, so there is no definitive answer. But it is to give an indication of where we are in the terrain, Wilberg tells NRK.
The investigation, which has been ongoing for more than a year, has resulted in 47 individuals being charged with planning murder, serious narcotics offences, and serious firearms offences. Fifteen weapons, NOK 5 million, and several tens of kilograms of narcotics have been seized.
Arvid Utby, who heads the section for organised crime in the Oslo police, tells NRK that the police believe they have uncovered an apparatus of organisers behind the activity.
One of the central individuals the police have apprehended is Shahbaz Dad (44). He was previously convicted for the murder of the Young Guns leader in 2009, which he ordered from the now deceased Stig Millehaugen.
The police point out that much of the crime that takes place around the country originates in the capital. Last year, the police received NOK 600 million from the state budget for a national effort against criminal networks.
– This means that to a greater extent than before we can cooperate with other police districts due to the increased focus on combating criminal networks, Wilberg tells NRK.
Although the police believe they have dismantled the network in question, there remain 119 others in the capital. Utby admits to NRK that it would be naïve to believe that organised crime has been eliminated from Oslo.
Nevertheless, he believes that the targeted effort sends a clear signal.
– There is no free zone in Oslo or Norway. Here one risks being prosecuted with imprisonment and confiscation of assets if one continues, Utby tells NRK.
Europol has pointed to organised crime as one of the greatest security threats in Europe. The police believe the threat in Norway has been increasing in recent years.