Lars Wilderang, an author and military blogger, speculated that sanctions may be forcing Russia to find creative solutions to access components for military equipment like drones.
“The thieves come from somewhere, but the buyers come from somewhere else,” he said. “You don’t do these kinds of big systematic thefts unless you have someone ordering the products.”
Until the recent crimes, the worst these safety cameras had seen were random incidents of vandalism, “someone who’s mad because they got a speeding ticket,” said Jonas Eronen, a police spokesperson for Region Mitt, where three counties were hit. The vandals would usually strike newly installed units, “either spray painting the lens or knocking it over,” he said.
“But in the past few weeks someone has systematically broken into these cabinets and plundered the contents, taking the camera and throwing the rest on the ground near the crime scene,” he said.
Mr. Eronen said an international crime network could be behind the thefts. The Swedish police have long fought similar waves in which teams of thieves from abroad target certain types of goods: boat engines, catalytic converters, GPS units, even horse saddles. The thieves then spirit the items out of the country and sell them.
“Swedish smorgasbord has a different meaning for these gangs,” Mr. Eronen said.
The crimes are difficult to solve because by the time the police mobilize, the thieves have typically already moved on to another region or left the country altogether.
But the police have not ruled out the possibility of local thieves at work, he added.
As of Friday, the Swedish Police Authority was investigating 160 reports of stolen speed cameras, Anna Engelbert, a press officer for the authority, wrote in an email.
