Saturday, August 29, 2015

The Great Nordic Biker War

The Great Nordic Biker War refers to the violent gang war that began in 1994 and continued until 1997, mainly involving Hells Angels and Bandidos but also involving support clubs.

The cities mainly affected by the war were Copenhagen in Denmark, Helsinki in Finland, Oslo in Norway, and Helsingborg and Malmö in Sweden.
On New Years Eve 1980, Denmark got its first Hell's Angels chapter in Copenhagen. In the early 90's there was a break in Denmark between HA and Morticians, a club who had been on good terms with HA. Morticians MC changed their name to Undertakers and in 1993 became Bandidos Denmark. Denmark now had two international motorcycle clubs. At a time when clubs in Scandinavia were on their way to join HA, suddenly there was an alternative.

Car bomb explosion at Bandidos club house in Drammen, Norway.
The war started in Sweden, when HA Sweden tried to prevent Morbids from joining the Bandidos. From there it spread. In Denmark, Sweden and Finland the war is between HA and Bandidos, but in Norway the Outlaws are also involved.

By the end of the war, 11 murders and 74 attempted murders had been committed and 96 people were wounded. Both clubs signed a treaty saying that no more chapters would be opened up in Scandinavia, but both sides had broken the treaty by the end of the 1990s.