Two cousins have been sentenced to life imprisonment for a gang-related murder in Helsingborg, marking the end of a violent wave and the disbandment of a criminal network. The murder, captured on surveillance footage, was the culmination of an internal conflict within the Södernätverket, a group formed by individuals with shared cultural backgrounds who arrived in Sweden during the 2015 refugee crisis. The case highlights issues of integration and the challenges faced by young immigrants in Sweden.
Cousins Sentenced to Life for Gang Murder in Helsingborg
Cousins Sentenced to Life for Gang Murder in Helsingborg
Two cousins have been sentenced to life imprisonment for a gang-related murder in Helsingborg. The act marked the culmination of a wave of violence in the city and the end of the criminal network.
Shortly after midnight, the silence of the otherwise quiet parking lot in Adolfsbergs centrum in Helsingborg is suddenly broken.
A man, caught on a surveillance camera, moves nervously between the cars. He crouches, casting quick glances over the car roofs – as if he knows what awaits.
From the same direction the man was watching, two people on a motorcycle roll into view. They approach quickly. The man throws himself against the wall, seeking cover, but it's too late.
He barely has time to raise his hands before a muzzle flash lights up the night. The shooter jumps off the motorcycle, fires the first shot, and as the man falls to the ground, he rushes forward and shoots again – at the head. Seconds later, the motorcycle disappears from the scene. Left on the asphalt lies the 33-year-old hairdresser, lifeless.
He is found several hours later. At six in the morning, the first alarm is called into the police.
The fatal shooting in early April 2024 was the peak of a spiral of violence that had been ongoing in Helsingborg since the fall of 2023.
– It is incredibly impactful to see the surveillance footage. You see how the man realizes he has been betrayed, that he has been lured into a trap and is going to die, says police inspector and community police officer Carlos Fernando in Helsingborg.
The conflict had roots in a love triangle that developed into a bloody internal settlement within the so-called Södernätverket.
– The quarrel between two friends and a woman caused a clear split within the network, where members were forced to choose sides, continues Carlos Fernando.
The hairdresser, a 33-year-old man from Syria, was previously known to the police but had a low-profile role in the network.
He had already been targeted once before – in November 2023 – when he was kidnapped, beaten, and robbed by people from the same group. He managed to escape that time, but it was only a reprieve.
A friend recounts in police interviews about the hairdresser's last days:
– He was scared because of something but didn't tell me anything. He said he wanted to hug me and kiss me, which was unusual and I was surprised.
Featured on "Efterlyst"
According to the investigation, the kidnapping was an attempt to get to his Syrian friend who had survived two previous shootings in the city, linked to the same network.
The hairdresser then became a target himself because, according to the investigation, he had reported the kidnappers to the police.
Just over three hours before the murder, two of the suspected men were wanted with names and pictures on the TV3 program "Efterlyst."
After the program aired, intense contacts began between the now life-sentenced men, who have connections to the two kidnappers, on Snapchat and Signal. According to the district court's verdict, it was then that the murder plans were finalized.
In April 2025, seven people were sentenced in Helsingborg District Court for involvement in the murder in the parking lot. Among them were cousins Mahmoud Hamesh and Mahmoud Jarad, who were both 18 years old when the act was committed.
Mahmoud Jarad, now 20 years old, was according to the investigation the one who shot. Mahmoud Hamesh, now 19 years old, drove the motorcycle.
They both received life imprisonment for murder and serious weapons offenses. The Court of Appeal also convicts the cousins of murder and upholds the sentences of life imprisonment. They are also convicted of weapons offenses, which are not considered serious.
A 25-year-old man was also sentenced in the district court to deportation and life for aiding and abetting murder. According to the investigation, he was the one who kept track of the hairdresser's movements and handed over the weapons to the perpetrators.
According to the Court of Appeal, however, it is not proven that he handled any weapon and he is therefore acquitted of serious weapons offenses. The sentence is changed to ten years in prison and the district court's deportation order remains.
– It is an incredibly tragic case but also shows that good police work – which knew exactly who was in conflict and could take quick action from day one – yielded results. It is a persistent police effort that has been built up over time and has been able to secure our evidence at an early stage, says senior prosecutor Cathrine Bengtsson.
The police describe the Södernätverket as a loosely organized group with a common cultural and geographical background. Several of the members are related. Most came to Sweden during the refugee crisis in 2015 and the network took shape in the Söder district, which has been categorized as a risk area.
– They wandered aimlessly around Söder and were quickly picked up by criminal, leading figures who realized that there was labor here. They started with drug dealing at street level, says community police officer and police inspector Carlos Fernando.
When the internal conflict broke out, the violence quickly became brutal.
– Many of these guys came here from the same refugee camp in Syria and have previously lived in parallel social structures, with their own justice and courts.
"Not Capable of Shooting"
After the fatal shooting last April, the Södernätverket has lost its strength. Several members are now detained, others have left the city or been deported.
Not even other, more established criminals in Helsingborg could stand behind what was going on.
– There were even established criminals in Helsingborg who thought that this "desperado" behavior had to stop and distanced themselves from them, says Carlos Fernando.
The situation in the Söder district is now calmer – but the price has been high.
– This group has been very prone to violence. We don't know what experiences they have brought here and what they have done in Syria, but we are not used to young guys shooting with such heavy weapons in the open street.
The two life-sentenced cousins and the 25-year-old convicted of aiding and abetting murder all had a clear role in the network and sold drugs.
– When it became more violent and one had to choose sides in the conflict, they became obvious executors. But I hadn't thought they were capable of shooting, but the escalation of violence went so fast, and then you have no choice.
Behind the shooting, the violence, and the network, there is also another story – that of a failed integration. Something that community police officer Carlos Fernando believes Sweden must dare to face.
– These guys were left to their fate. Much of this could have been avoided if we had managed to pick up these boys and families in time and provided support to the parents. The refugee reception from 2015 onwards due to the war in Syria is a lesson for all of Sweden, which must also be talked about openly.
– It is very unfortunate and has cost society a lot.
Expressen has sought the life-sentenced cousins' lawyer who does not want to comment on anything in the article.