A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to prison after the police, on the basis of an anonymous tip, found as many as 22 camera traps under his bed. The state receives no compensation.
A 20-year-old man was found in possession of 22 stolen cameras, which he had hidden under his bed. Now he and several other accomplices have been sentenced.
After an extensive police investigation and several trials, a verdict has now been passed on the so-called "speed camera league", which is behind extensive thefts of speed cameras in Sweden.
The thefts were first discovered by the Swedish Traffic Agency in August 2022, when 11 speed cameras were found destroyed along a stretch of road in Uppland.
Vandalism against speed cameras has happened before, but as reports of stolen cameras continued to pour in over the course of the autumn, the police were called in to investigate the matter further.
The investigation revealed that the theft spree included as many as 150 cameras with a total value of several million Swedish kroner.
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Most thefts took place in the Uppsala and Stockholm areas. In the beginning, the police had difficulty finding concrete clues, as neither DNA nor fingerprints were found at the crime scenes.
But when police asked the public for help, they received an anonymous tip about two young men from the Norrtälje area who were allegedly trying to sell stolen cameras online.
A search of one suspect's home revealed 22 camera traps hidden under the bed and a camera placed on a desk. The discovery led to arrests, and a few days later four more people were taken in for questioning.
On the suspects' mobile phones, the police found both pictures and video clips showing how the young men removed speed cameras. In addition, conversations emerged in chat groups where the thefts were discussed.
The trial, which spanned seven court days, resulted in three of the defendants being sentenced to prison terms. The 20-year-old who kept the 22 camera traps was sentenced to one year and four months in prison for aggravated theft.
A 26-year-old co-accused will be jailed for one year and six months for attempted grand theft and several cases of grand theft, while a 25-year-old was sentenced to one year and ten months in prison for repeated thefts.
In addition to the three prison sentences, a further three defendants were given suspended sentences and ordered to pay daily fines. A fourth person, a 22-year-old, was acquitted. The Swedish Transport Agency's – and thus the state's – demand for compensation for the stolen and damaged speed cameras was rejected by the judge.
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