Sweden on Wednesday charged a man described by media as a top gang boss with masterminding a slew of violent attacks, as the country sees a reduction in its decade-long organised crime wave.
Sweden has seen the number of bombings and shootings come down this year, with police crediting new tough legislation and authorities actively pursuing gang leaders orchestrating the violence from hideouts abroad.
Ildar Galiyev, 26, was extradited to Sweden from Greece in February.
He is suspected of orchestrating almost a dozen murders and attempted murders during a wave of shootings and bombings in 2023 and 2024 linked to a dispute with a rival gang.
He "is suspected of having acted as a recruiter of other individuals, in several cases young people, who carried out the crimes," the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement.
"I would say he is more of a perpetrator than those who carried out the acts," prosecutor Mats Ihlbom told AFP.
Media identified Galiyev, nicknamed "Scar", as a top figure in the Stockholm-based Dalen Network.
His trial is scheduled to begin November 3 and continue until March 2027.
Among other things, he is suspected of masterminding a powerful bombing of a residential building that claimed an innocent victim, and the killing of an 18-year-old at a sports field in front of children.
Markus Bergdahl, the accused's lawyer, told AFP his client denied all charges.
An otherwise tranquil country, Sweden has endured over a decade of brutal attacks by organised crime networks involving automatic weapons, grenades and explosives, sometimes in broad daylight.
Gang leaders often organise operations from abroad, recruiting kids on encrypted apps to carry out hits for cash, knowing they cannot be prosecuted because they are under the age of criminal responsibility.
Ihlbom explained that in the past, law enforcement had been effective in bringing those who carried out the acts to justice, but had a harder time reaching those operating from abroad.
The Galiyev case was a good example of reaching "behind" the acts, he said.
The violence took place on an almost daily basis a few years ago but has since decreased significantly.
Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer last week noted that in September no shootings or bombings were reported in Stockholm, a first in almost 10 years.
"We have seen a change in society, there are not as many incidents currently," Ilhbom said.