Danish biker wars, The

Scandinavian Review, Spring/Summer 1997 by Helle Bering-Jensen

The bikers could well have fit into the Denmark of a 1000 years ago, the Denmark of Viking kings Gorm the Old, Harold Bluetooth, and Sven Forkbeard for whom revenge was a way of life. But they fit very badly into the Denmark of today, which is a peaceful society that prides itself on the rational resolution of disputes and on a prevailing community spirit. The Danes believe in social rehabilitation. Convicted murderer Jorn "Jonke" Nielsen, for instance, was housed in a so-called "open" prison where prisoners can come and go throughout the day. He was even invited to speak to local groups of school children. Obviously, the gangs' determination to fight each other to the death has no place in this environment.

A Cycle of Violence

The March 10 murder sparked off a nauseating cycle of violence. On April 26, Bandidos member Morten "Wooden Leg" Christiansen was wounded by a hand grenade in his cell in Horserod state prison. On May 7, Hell's Angel Brian "the Break" Jacobsen was wounded in an attack and lost a leg. On July 10, Bandidos member Jim Verner was killed, and his body was found near an unexploded bomb. On July 15, Jan "the Face" Jensen was shot and killed in Drammen, Norway; he was affiliated with Bandidos in Sweden. On July 21, a 12-pound unexploded bomb was found near the Hell's Angels club house in Titangade in Copenhagen. On July 25, Hell's Angel leader Jorn "Jonke" Nielsen was wounded in his cell in the minimum security prison Jyderup, when armed gunmen sprayed him with bullets and tossed a hand grenade into his cell for good measure. On August 14, a Bandidos sympathizer was wounded by gunfire near Haslev. On September 2, a biker from the Hell's Angel's support group MC Danmark was wounded by handgun fire. On September 4, a car bomb was directed against MC Danmark. On September 12, a bomb exploded in a stolen car near the Hell's Angels club house in Roskilde, which was also sprayed by 250 bullets on September 22.

Citizens Confront the Threat

It's not surprising that Danish citizens were getting rather nervous. None had a more unsettling experience than the residents of Polensgade in Copenhagen, who woke up one morning in September to find that Hell's Angels had acquired the house across from their community playground. Before long, the trademark barricades and barbed wire of the club houses-or, as they are more appropriately known, "the biker fortresses"-went up. Fearful for the safety of their families, the residents became prisoners in their own homes, kept their children inside, and rearranged their living rooms to get the sofa out of the line of fire. They complained bitterly to the Social Democratic government of Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen.

The Politicians

In this kind of warfare, new methods of defense had to be found, some of which were discomfiting to Danish politicians and law enforcement officials. Outside the metropolitan area, police were making almost no progress in solving the murders and attacks.

Urged in consultations with the FBI to get in touch with the criminals before things got even worse, Danish police accumulated record-setting overtime hours as they monitored the gangs' activities, made numerous arrests, and confiscated large caches of weapons. According to then Attorney General Bjorn Westh, 10 times as many weapons were confiscated in 1996 as in 1995. In October, Denmark was appointed to lead an international joint task force to contain organized criminal gang activity and warfare. The task force included the 15 EU countries, as well as non-EU members Norway and Switzerland, with cooperation from the FBI and Interpol.