Greek police arrest Swedish man suspected of links to gang murders in Sweden

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ATHENS (Reuters) – Greek police arrested on Friday a 24-year old Swedish man suspected of being a gang member and wanted by Sweden in relation to a series of crimes including murders and kidnappings, police said.

Greek police, acting on a tipoff by Swedish authorities and with the assistance of Europol, located the man in northern Greece on Thursday, police said in a statement. He was arrested after presenting a fake Austrian identification document, a police official added.

Police also searched his temporary residence in the area of Chalkidiki where they found and confiscated a gun, bullets and drugs among other evidence.

In a fast-track process, a Greek court sentenced the man to 20 months in prison and a fine on Friday on charges that included gun possession and document forgery, the official said.

In the meantime a European arrest warrant was issued against him by Swedish authorities and he was re-arrested.

He will appear before a prosecutor on Saturday, who is expected to decide over his extradition.

Swedish police were not immediately available for a comment.

(Reporting by Yannis Souliotis; Additional reporting by Louise Rasmussen in Stockholm; Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Toby Chopra)