Norway’s Most Wanted

Our Norwegian correspondent The Observer has translated an article from today’s Dagbladet about the large number of criminals who are wanted by the Oslo police and still at large.

Based on the mug shots accompanying the article, the most wanted criminals are not… ahem… persons of Norwegian background:

More than 3,000 people are wanted by the Oslo police

The police in Oslo are looking for 3,246 people wanted in connection with various criminal cases. Murder, attempted murder, rape, kidnapping and robbery are among some of the crimes.

“The numbers change every day, but at the present time we have 3,246 individuals that we are looking for. We have no idea of their whereabouts. They could be in Oslo, elsewhere in the country or abroad,” says head of the police station in Grønland, Kåre Stølen to Dagbladet.

These individuals constitute a very diverse group, but they have one thing in common, the police want to get hold of them in connection with criminal cases or possible criminal cases.

“They encompass the entire spectrum, from missing individuals, to undelivered subpoenas and witnesses who refuse to attend, to murder and attempted murder,” says Stølen.

The number of people who at any given time are wanted by the Oslo police is on the rise, according to the head of the police station.

“There is a lot of serious crime, and every criminal charge is represented among these 3,000. There is violence, theft, fraud, sexual crimes and drug use. The entire spectrum,” says Stølen.

7000 wanted by the police in Norway

The police have no idea where these people are. And although many of them are probably somewhere in Oslo, it is not necessarily that easy for the police to locate them.

“Many of them give us addresses that are not for their primary residence. They’ll do everything to hide, it’s a huge problem,” says Stølen.

“And then we catch them for traffic-related offences or we arrest them when they commit new crimes.”

He believes that some criminals take advantage of the fact that it can take a long time before they are apprehended, because under Norwegian criminal law sentences will be reduced if there’s a long gap between the time a criminal act is committed until the case is finally tried in court.

“It’s not fair that criminals who deliberately elude the police should receive a reduced sentence simply because of the length of time that has passed between the crime and the sentencing. Altogether the police in Norway are currently looking for 7,000 individuals,” according Stølen.

Wanted individuals who are known to be abroad and on whom Interpol has an APB out are the responsibility of the PST.

Not coordinated

Last summer Dagbladet reported on a case concerning a wanted robber (22). He had been in police custody in Finnmark [region in northern Norway] after being caught with 1.4 kilograms of methamphetamine. He also had a previously conviction for armed robbery of a taxi from Oslo District Court. He then fled to Kosovo, with several unsettled robbery and drug issues on his rap sheet in Norway. Several APBs were issued for this person.

He then returned to Norway in 2011 and began working in a small carpentry firm. Eight months later, the police finally discovered that he was back in Norway.

It was then uncovered that the man had worked as a construction worker at government square — a job that requires security clearance.

According to Stølen it is a problem that Norway hasn’t coordinated its national registers.

“We do not have access to the records of NAV and Skatt Øst [eastern branch of the IRS]. A person who is wanted by us could receive funds from NAV without us knowing about it. The State is investigating with one hand and handing out funds with the other.”

Will grant access to the PST

The major legal obstacles for information-sharing between public agencies are a matter which is being discussed at the highest political levels these days. The July 22 Commission also highlighted this problem in its report.

Minister of Justice Grete Faremo told Aftenposten on Wednesday that she wants to give the PST access to public records.

“I question whether it is appropriate to have these strong barriers limit the exchange of information. When public agencies have information which can help to address a purpose, my question is whether or not this type of information, for example from Nav, should be made available for PST if they request it,” said the Minister of Justice.

The text under the photos in the original article, in order from top to bottom:

Wanted for attempted murder: Ahmed Hassan Jama is wanted for attempted murder after having shot a Norwegian-Pakistani 27-year-old repeatedly in Ellingsrud on July 30.

Wanted for knife murder: Donatas Majauskas (24) is home in Lithuania. Norwegian police have put out an APB on him for a knife murder of a 31-year old Lithuanian in Re on February, 20 2011.

Wanted for Drug TRAFFICKING: Iraqi coach Arkan Musa Jaf (29) was indicted for having imported and sold a total of 4.6 kilograms of heroin in Norway. In October 2008, he escaped from the Bergen County Court while being accompanied into the courthouse jail during a break. In February 2009, the 29-year-old was sentenced in absentia to nine years in prison. Now he wants to return to Norway to serve his penalty.

Arrested in PARIS: Alexandru Dodo (35) from Romania is accused of raping two elderly women in Oslo. He was wanted by Interpol and arrested in Paris and he is now in the process of being extradited to Norway.

Wanted for rape: Karwan Tahsin Mohyeldin (35) is convicted of two assault rapes in Borgarting Court of Appeals. He was not in police custody and decided to leave the country during the his trial

Wanted FOR MURDER: Azad Ali Ghaleb (33) Iraq is wanted for the murder of Cathrine Halvorsen, who was found strangled in an apartment at Kongsvinger in December 2003.

Wanted FOR Child Abduction: Silvia Voice Holm and Rambo Hansen are wanted for child abduction after they abducted her child who was in the care of the state at Aline infant center in Oslo on June 12. He has been arrested, but mother and child are still at large,

For a complete listing of previous enrichment news, see The Cultural Enrichment Archives.