Knives, firearms and aggravated robbery. In just over four years, a teenage boy from Romerike has been a suspect or charged in 39 criminal cases, most of which were dropped because he was under 15.
He has now been convicted for the first time, receiving a seven-month youth sentence.
He had no idea that plainclothes police were watching him when, one evening in March, he handed over drugs to two girls outdoors in Oslo. He had received his instructions via an encrypted messaging app, including the message that ‘2 items are there now’. The officers stopped him shortly afterwards, and in his side bag they found MDMA tablets, cannabis and cocaine.
He admitted to the sale and possession, but the money was a different matter.
In August 2025, the police found just under 10,000 kroner in cash on him during a body search near a school in Lillestrøm. “It was money I’d saved up,” the boy explained. On his phone, however, he had pictures of what looked like drugs, adverts for selling cannabis and a large stack of banknotes. The teenager had also asked to join several groups for buying and selling. He just wanted to see if there was anything he fancied, he said, and the images were screenshots from other users.
The majority of the district court did not believe this and convicted him of handling stolen goods. A minority, however, would not rule out the possibility that the money had been lawfully acquired.
The search of the boy was part of a targeted operation against a youth group with a history of criminal activity, in which, according to the police, the boy plays a central role. He is well known to the police, but had not previously been convicted of any offence.
His nationality has not been disclosed.
In addition to drug dealing and handling stolen goods, he was convicted of speeding, failing to stop for the police and two counts of driving without a valid driving licence. He will be eligible to apply for a driving licence no earlier than six months after his 18th birthday. The money and a mobile phone have been confiscated.
The sentence was exactly what the prosecutor had requested.
“My client is very satisfied with the verdict. Beyond that, I have no comment,” defence lawyer Sugin Varatharajan told Romerikes Blad.
A youth sentence is an alternative to prison for offenders aged between 15 and 18. Lillestrøm is one of the six municipalities where the government last year proposed allocating funds for close monitoring of young people who commit repeat offences.
