Abdo – also known as ”Jordgubben” – was not prosecuted as he is abroad, but has been detained in his absence for suspected involvement. The prosecutor has said that it is he with his network Rumba who organized the transport of the cocaine, which in street value is estimated to be worth just over 1.2 billion kronor.
The evidence against the gang leader is largely based on chats in encrypted apps where Abdo is linked to various aliases, but since he was not prosecuted, the district court does not comment on his guilt.
The court notes, however, that many of the crimes dealt with in the judgment have been "committed by and have connections to people on Ismail Abdo's side", and that it has been shown that the cocaine has connections to the Rumba network.
He is a central person in this prosecution and it is also evident in the judgment that he is mentioned all the time. I have presented evidence that he is the common denominator, he is the one who has been in contact with most of the people who are now being convicted, says prosecutor Daniel Jonsson to TT.
Six acquitted
A total of 17 people were prosecuted in the case. Six are fully acquitted while the others are convicted of various degrees of involvement.
Seven people are convicted of attempted aggravated narcotics offense and four are convicted of accessory to a crime. The sentences are set to imprisonment ranging from just over five years to one year and six months. Two young people receive closed youth care.
Since it was not a completed crime according to the court, the sentences are lower than they would have been otherwise. Several important steps remained for it to be completed and according to the court, the possibility of success was "limited" since there were police and customs officers on site.
The record-large cocaine seizure was made on April 18, 2024, after the police had conducted surveillance against a man and a woman who monitored containers leaving the harbor. In a check of one of the containers, customs inspectors found the cocaine.
Shooting in Malmö
A 25-year-old man is also convicted of an attempted murder in Malmö in August 2024, after a 13-year-old boy shot a man in the leg on behalf of the 25-year-old. The sentence for him will be imprisonment for 16 years and ten months.
Ismail Abdo was one of about 20 people arrested in a major operation in Turkey on Friday. He is suspected of several serious crimes in Sweden, including those related to the very violent conflict within the Foxtrot network that broke out in 2023. Since he is also a Turkish citizen, he will not be extradited to Sweden, according to the Prosecution Authority.
"Jordgubben" Ismael Abdo was previously closely allied with the Foxtrot network and its leader Rawa Majid from Uppsala. They engaged in extensive narcotics smuggling to Sweden for several years.
Between 2021 and 2023, the network was involved in at least four separate conflicts with other gangs, including the Dalen network in southern Stockholm.
In the summer of 2023, an internal split occurred within the network, which resulted in a bloody conflict between people in Foxtrot. Among other things, Ismail Abdo's mother was murdered in her home outside Uppsala.
Ismail Abdo later became a leader in a new, rival network that is known to the police as Rumba.
Another of the leading figures in the conflict was shot dead in Iraq's capital Baghdad in early 2024.
Source: The Police's National Operational Department (Noa), TT
