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Business & Money

Armed thieves escape after highway chaos

Published: 23 May 12 07:38 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/40988/20120523/

Police are searching for the men involved in a dramatic highway robbery in Stockholm on Tuesday night, in which one car was stolen at gunpoint and an armoured transport vehicle was rammed.

It is believed that the thieves’ objective was to take the contents of the armoured vehicle, wrote the Aftonbladet newspaper.

The men rammed their own car into the armoured vehicle around 8.30pm on Tuesday night near Fredhäll in west Stockholm.

However, their own car was no match for the larger vehicle, and after the crash the men left their own car and made a run for it.

Witnesses saw three men, and told the paper that they were masked and carrying at least one automatic weapon.

The men fled the scene on foot. Soon after, a passing car was hijacked at gunpoint in a nearby area, which police assume was directly related to the crash on the highway.

“A person lost their car at gunpoint and the offenders left the scene in this car,” said Ulf Lindgren of the Stockholm police to Aftonbladet.

Some 20 police patrols and a helicopter were sent to the area, yet the men were not caught.

Meanwhile, the men’s own car was left on the highway, badly damaged from the ramming.

While no-one was injured in the melee, police are still unsure of the offenders’ whereabouts.

“We don’t know where they’ve gone but know what car we’re looking for,” Lindgren told the paper.

An investigation into aggravated robbery is underway.

The Local/og (news@thelocal.se)

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08:34 May 23, 2012 by JulieLou40
God, it makes the police sound totally inept!
08:43 May 23, 2012 by canuk
the police in sweden are useless for crimes, they are quite good at writing parking tickets however.
09:00 May 23, 2012 by procrustes
There seems to be regular commenters that live for the chance to take a cheap shot, and Swedish police are a favorite target. I, for one, find Swedish police to be as good as any force in Europe and more professional than most; although, I worry about trends indicating they may be watching too much American police TV shows.

If the Sour Apples need to kick someone to feel better, I suggest the political side of Swedish justice--that is indeed a joke.
09:05 May 23, 2012 by occassional
They cannot even begin to comprehend the mentality and mindset of these imported gangsters. If and when they do, then they will have to match them in brutality. In other words ... enjoy the show for it will last.
10:55 May 23, 2012 by DAVID T
My ex wife got beat up in our back garden - It took the police 2 hours to arrive - so @procrustes I know they are useless rude twåts
11:27 May 23, 2012 by Borilla
@procrustes

The Swedish police blow off what they consider minor crimes; although they are major to the victims. They manipulate statistics by not reporting criminal complaints or mislabeling them. They seem to be fairly competent at dealing with some murders, probably because they usually assume that one member of a couple killed their mate and they label everything else as gang related. They are far behind the curve because, as occassional says, they cannot begin to comprehend the mentality and mindset of these imported gangsters. They are village police caught in modern times and ill-prepared and ill-trained for the job. In some defense of your argument and the police, they are stymied by a justice system that is haphazard and, basically, an old boy network.
11:29 May 23, 2012 by B Slick
The police are exactly what the country, society,courts and politicans want them to be. Now if you want the police to do more than what they do today then simply give more power (elbow room) to the police to fight crime in the form of what they can do and equipment that they need. Example: in most countries the police can use "entrapment methods" to snag crimminals, in Sweden is against the law to catch crimminals using "entrapment methods" . So dont ask the police to do things that are against the law, CHANGE THE LAWS!
12:53 May 23, 2012 by Abe L
#2 - Parking tickets are written by rent-a-cops not even the police, the state employs an army the size of the people's liberation army of them. The police do are good at writing speeding tickets however.

OT: As soon as the threat has automatic firearms the regular police shouldn't be in the lead anyway. There should be special teams or the army chasing these guys down, there should have been military grade helicopters in the air within 5 minutes of the report that an armored vehicle became the target of an assault. It is absolutely pathetic and a complete disgrace that these guys managed to get away. The whole reason these things keep occurring much more frequently lately is because the criminals keep getting away instead of ending up in a morgue.
09:09 May 24, 2012 by CJ from Sunshine Desserts
Less cash is being used these days, but of course there will always be a need for banknotes......when was the last time you saw a 1000 crown note for example ? Move over to smart cards & help eliminate the need for these vulnerable transports...criminals will always find ways to make money illegaly, pity they don`t put so much effort into legal activities instead !?
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