Famed for its openness and slower pace of life, Sweden is one of the last places you might expect to see children being pulled off the streets and searched without a warrant, or having their phones spied on by detectives. But after four years of gang violence that has seen children as young as 12 recruited on social media to carry out hit jobs against rival gangsters, police say it has become a grim but necessary reality. In April 2024, Swedish police were handed sweeping new powers to tackle the rise of Middle Eastern drug syndicates that were grooming boys and girls into being “foot soldiers” by offering them up to 150,000 kroner (£12,500) per job. Across Swedish cities, officers now have the power to stop and search people – including children – and vehicles without specific suspicion of a crime, similar in scope to powers given to police in Britain. Children under the age of 15 can also be placed under phone and internet surveillance by police if they are suspected of serious crimes, …