In the past, the organised criminals behind the cannabis sale on Pusherstreet in Christiania have thrown rocks and firecrackers in their battle to keep the law out of their domain. But lately, their line of defence has become little more sophisticated.
Torben Svarrer, the deputy police inspector at the Copenhagen Police and head of Task Force Pusherstreet, said that the cannabis dealers have begun using drones in their bid to keep the police task force at bay.
“The police have registered that the organised criminals have begun flying drones,” Svarrer told Berlingske newspaper.
“We assume that they are doing it in an attempt to expose the police efforts in Christiania.”
The police have been stepping up their efforts to cull the cannabis dealing on Pusherstreet and arrested 80 people in a nationwide raid last month.
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Violence against police
According to Kim Møller, a lecturer in criminology at Aalborg University, the increased police presence has made the cannabis trade more risky, but it has hardened the criminals’ resistance to the police.
“In a European context, it is crazy that the pushers in Christiania actually attack the police,” Møller said.
“You need to go to a ghetto in the USA or a Brazilian favela to see something similar. That speaks volumes about the forces at play in Christiania.”
Svarrer said that Christiania dealers rarely live in the area and that most are related to motorcycle gangs like the Hells Angels.
Describing the hierarchy in Pusherstreet, Svarrer said there were about 30 cannabis booths in the street but less dealers. Each one is typically responsible for several booths, employing underlings to serve customers and guards to use violence against the police if necessary.
