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Prison for 'Stockholm Syndrome' accomplice

TT/David Landes
TT/David Landes - [email protected]
Prison for 'Stockholm Syndrome' accomplice
Gunnar Lundmark/Bertil Ericson/Scanpix (File)

One of Sweden’s most notorious criminals, 62-year-old Clark Olofsson, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his involvement in a drug smuggling syndicate.

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Olofsson, who now goes under the name Daniel Demuynck, rose to prominence in Swedish criminal justice circles for his role in the famous 1973 bank robbery after which the term “Stockholm syndrome” was coined.

In addition to Olofsson, who was found guilty of serious narcotics crimes as well as attempted serious narcotics crimes, nine other suspects were also convicted by the district court in Linköping for their role in the smuggling ring.

According to the court’s ruling, Olofsson had a central role in a gang which trafficked large quantities of amphetamines and marijuana into Sweden between autumn 2007 and the summer of 2008.

Olofsson and six others were indicted for smuggling of 100 kilogrammes of amphetamines and 76 kilogrammes of cannabis from the Netherlands to Sweden.

Their crimes were covered in one part of a three part indictment.

The court also ordered Olofsson, now a citizen of Belgium, be deported from Sweden for life after serving out his prison sentence.

While he was sentenced for nine years in prison, Olofsson’s prison time will be extended by five years because his new offences violate the terms of his conditional release from a 14-year sentence he had been serving in Denmark until his release in 2005.

Back in 1973, Olofsson, known then as Demuynck, was in prison when friend Jan-Erik Olsson told police to bring Olofsson to a bank in central Stockholm where Olsson has holding four people hostage.

After the six-day ordeal ended, several of the hostages defended Olsson and Olofsson, prompting Swedish criminologist Nils Bejerot to coin the term “Stockholm Syndrome” to refer to how hostages can sympathize with their hostage taker.

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