After a coordinated Europol operation, Mexican authorities arrested 27-year-old Mikael Tenezos, known to Swedish security services by the alias “Greken” (The Greek), one of Sweden’s most wanted criminals.
Tenezos, whose family hails from Pistiana, Arta, and who was born in Stockholm to Greek immigrants, is believed to have transformed from a talented figure skater into a dangerous criminal. According to authorities, he was a top-ranking member of the “Dalen” organization, a group that splintered from the infamous “Foxtrot” gang led by Rawa Majid, also known as the “Kurdish Fox.”
The rivalry between the two organizations has plunged Sweden into a wave of violence in recent years, turning Stockholm from a peaceful European capital into a battleground. In just one year, more than 60 people were killed in shootings and bombings, with the death toll the following year already exceeding 30.
Tenezos’s arrest in Mexico is considered by European authorities to be a major blow to the organized crime networks that have expanded their operations beyond Europe.
Bombings, murders, kidnappings, and extortion have become a daily occurrence — in a country that was until recently considered a model of social welfare and security.
Tenezos’s gang controlled areas in the southern suburbs of the Swedish capital, such as Enskededalen and Bagarmossen, while the rival “Foxtrot” dominated the north. The conflict wasn’t just about money; it evolved into a personal vendetta, with each side aiming to completely eliminate the other.
Those who knew young Mikael in his teenage years describe him as a disciplined, talented, and ambitious athlete. He was seriously involved in ice hockey, and his coaches described him as a gifted child with boundless energy and determination.
However, no one could have imagined that just a few years later, he would be at the center of the most violent criminal conflict Sweden has ever experienced. According to authorities, he began associating with young people who had criminal records and gradually became involved in organized crime, building networks for trafficking weapons and drugs — lured by the promise of easy money. Surveillance of his communications revealed a network that operated with military-like discipline and had infiltrated many neighborhoods in Stockholm.
Roots in Arta
Mikael Tenezos comes from Pistiana, Arta, a small mountainous traditional village with around 200 residents. The surname “Tenezos” can still be found in the region, as several family members emigrated to Sweden in the 1970s in search of a better life.
In a past interview with Proto Thema, 72-year-old Giorgos Tenezos, a distant relative, had said:
“His grandfather left here about fifty years ago. He built a life in Sweden, and since then we lost all contact. Mikael’s parents last visited the village about fifteen years ago, when he was still a small child. We haven’t seen them since.”
He also explained that no one in the village could have imagined that the child who once played in the yards with the others would become the name that now terrifies Sweden.
“We learned about all this from the TV. No one could believe it. He was just a normal kid,” he added.
Swedish police consider “Dalen” to be one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Scandinavia. Tenezos’s group used encrypted messaging apps, hired hitmen, and even recruited children as young as 12 to act as messengers or lookouts.
Their operations extend beyond Sweden’s borders, with connections in the Balkans and other European countries where large drug trafficking networks are active.
The international scope of the network became evident in 2022 when a 22-year-old student from Azerbaijan was arrested at Athens’ Eleftherios Venizelos Airport. Greek authorities accused him of ordering bomb attacks in Sweden via encrypted apps and of inciting third parties to plant explosive devices, causing extensive damage.
The young man was held in isolation, without communication or access to correspondence, as he was considered a key member of the same network. The case was directly linked to Tenezos and confirmed that “Dalen” had evolved into an international criminal organization with roots and branches in multiple countries.
In recent years, Stockholm has started to resemble Gotham City more than the capital of one of Europe’s most prosperous nations. Citizens avoid going out after dark, police conduct patrols with military support, and politicians openly speak of a “gang war.” The 27-year-old Greek, with roots in a quiet village in Epirus, has become the symbolic face of a wave of violence that has forever changed Sweden.
(Information from protothema.gr)
