Gangsters forced boy to replace 'trademark' tattoo

Two members of a criminal gang were indicted on criminal charges on Wednesday after forcing an 18-year-old boy to replace a tattoo they claimed had infringed their "trademark".

• Nighttime skier crashes into promenading elk (18 Mar 10)
• Baby seal killed in road accident (18 Mar 10)
• Republicans call for elk to dethrone cash king (16 Mar 10)

The boy was approached by two members of the Fucked For Life gang after they learned that the 18-year-old had a tattoo on his arm bearing the legend Förstörd För Livet (Ruined For Life).

The boy said he got the tattoo because it reminded him of a rock band and he thought it was "a cool thing to do".

But two Fucked For Life members, 36 and 33, saw matters differently and contacted the boy to inform him that he had breached the gang's trademark.

The boy was told he had two choices: either cover over his tattoo with a new design or get it removed altogether.

Last winter he was taken to a tattoo artist in Tumba, the south Stockholm suburb where the gang has its base. There the offending words were covered over with a tattoo representing a long knife.

When the new tattoo was completed the boy was informed by the gang members that he owed them "compensation" for stealing their trademark. A couple of weeks later the boy's parents paid the men 50,000 kronor ($6,500).

The two gang members are to stand trial at Södertörn District Court on charges of aggravated harassment, assault and aggravated extortion. The tattoo artist has also been charged with assault for inking the boy without his consent.