The leader of one of Sweden’s most notorious crime gangs has been arrested in Turkey, Swedish police announced on Friday, July 4. While authorities didn’t name the suspect, Swedish media identified him as 35-year-old Ismail Abdo, believed to be the head of the Rumba criminal network.
Abdo has been accused of organising violent crimes from abroad and has been the subject of an international arrest warrant since 2024.
Sweden is facing a major surge in organised crime, with gangs involved in drug and weapons trafficking, welfare fraud, and a growing number of shootings and bombings. Officials say these groups have also infiltrated parts of Swedish society—including welfare services, local government, schools, the justice system, and youth detention centres.
Police say many gang leaders run operations from outside the country, using social media to coordinate attacks and often relying on children too young to be held criminally responsible to carry them out.
Abdo was reportedly arrested in a raid by Turkish security forces. “In a law enforcement operation in Turkey, Turkish police today arrested a Swedish man who has long been suspected of drug crimes and organising serious violence in Sweden,” police said in a statement.
