Swedish vigilantes on the hunt for refugees in the Øresund

Self-proclaimed ‘pirates’ patrolling Danish-Swedish border

A group of nationalist vigilantes from Sweden are patrolling the waters of the Øresund between Denmark and Sweden in an effort to prevent illegal immigration. The self-proclaimed pirates want to prevent refugees from entering Swedish territory.

The vigilantes are members of a Swedish group called Nationell Framtid (National Future). They are using speedboats to monitor the 5km maritime boundary between Sweden and Denmark. The vigilantes say coastal border guards are not doing enough to stop migrants coming into Sweden from Denmark.

Sweden introduced border checks in Denmark in January in an attempt to deal with the flow of immigrants. Passengers travelling from Denmark to Sweden via the Øresund Bridge or by train need a valid identification to proceed.

“It’s not going to work”
The vigilantes believe that smugglers are circumventing border checks by transporting them over the waters of the Øresund.

“We do not see the coastguard very often,” Dennis Ljung, the groups’ founder, told RT. “If we spot smugglers and refugees, we will inform the coastguard. If they don’t turn around, we call the coastguard in Sweden.”

Ljung said that his group will manoeuvre their boat in front of suspected smugglers to impede their progress.

“Swedish and Norwegians can’t live together with Islamic people,” he said. “It’s not going to work.”

READ MORE: Swedish coastguard stops two men crossing the Øresund from Denmark in a stolen inflatable boat

More than 1 million asylum-seekers entered Europe in 2015.

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