Stockholm, Sept 23 (AFP/APP): Police in Sweden say they’re struggling to control criminal “clans” exercising their own form of justice, amid an escalation of violent crime in what has long been a tranquil and safe country. With close family loyalties and little regard for the authorities, a few dozen criminal gangs now wield considerable influence over some of Sweden’s disadvantaged neighbourhoods, say experts. Shootings, bombings and grenade attacks have become regular events in cities and towns across the country. Media outlets report on drug wars, blackmail, settlings of scores and witnesses too fearful of repercussions to testify. “Have you seen the movie ‘The Godfather’? Then you know what it’s like,” journalist Johanna Backstrom Lerneby, who wrote a book about one of Sweden’s most infamous crime families, told AFP. Gang members tied to the family Backstrom Lerneby wrote about recently made headlines in Sweden when, during a feud with a rival gang in August, they set up makeshift roadblocks, stopping cars and asking to see passengers’ ID cards. Interviewed by broadcaster SVT on condition of anonymity, a young man involved in the car checks who called himself “Samir” said the controls were set up to “protect residents and children in the … Continue reading Criminal ‘clans’ challenge Sweden’s law enforcement