How idealists turned bank robbers funded Palestinian terrorism for a decade
A group of Danish far-left activists systematically robbed banks, post offices and committed fraud for over a decade without detection. The money never funded luxury or escape, but flowed directly to the PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine). When Denmark's intelligence service PET finally dismantled the Blekinge Street Gang in 1989, the damage was already done: a police officer was dead, millions had been sent to the Middle East, and PET faced the most catastrophic intelligence failure in Danish history.
From the late 1960s until 1989, members of the Blekinge Street Gang lived seemingly normal lives. They held jobs, raised families and maintained addresses in Copenhagen—many living in or around Blekinge Street in the Nørrebro district. But when darkness fell, they transformed into something entirely different: disciplined robbers operating with military precision.
The gang's methods were professional. They planned meticulously, used disguises, stolen cars and false identities. Money from their crimes never disappeared into private luxury. Instead, millions of kroner were channeled through secret networks to the PFLP, a Marxist-Leninist Palestinian organization based in the Middle East.
Formation of the Gang
The Blekinge Street Gang begins to take shape among radical left-wing activists in Copenhagen
First Robberies
The group begins systematic bank robberies and post office raids to finance the PFLP
Købmagergade Shootout
Police officers Jesper Egtved Hansen and Flemming Baltzersen are shot. Baltzersen dies from his injuries
PET Dismantles the Gang
Coordinated raids lead to the arrest of seven members of the Blekinge Street Gang
Trial Begins
One of Denmark's longest trials commences against the seven defendants
Sentences Handed Down
Gang members receive prison sentences between 4 and 10 years for robbery, terrorism and weapons possession
PET Restructured
The case forces a complete reorganization of Danish intelligence services
New Terror Legislation
Denmark introduces tightened terrorism laws as a direct result of the Blekinge Street Gang case
Their ideological conviction was the foundation: they saw themselves as internationalists fighting imperialism and Zionism. politically motivated crime became their weapon, and they believed the ends justified the means.
November 22, 1988 marked the culmination of the Blekinge Street Gang's activities with perhaps Denmark's most dramatic peacetime police shooting. Police officers Jesper Egtved Hansen and Flemming Baltzersen discovered suspicious activity on Købmagergade street in Copenhagen and intervened.
The situation rapidly escalated into a gun battle on the open street. Both officers were shot. Flemming Baltzersen died from his injuries, while Jesper Egtved Hansen survived but was severely wounded. The perpetrators fled the scene.
The shootout shocked Denmark. Police officers being shot in central Copenhagen was almost unthinkable. But only months later did the public and PET realize this wasn't a random robbery gone wrong—it was the culmination of decades of secret terrorism financing.
In 1989, PET conducted coordinated raids and finally dismantled the Blekinge Street Gang. Seven people were arrested and later convicted. But the arrests raised an uncomfortable question: How had a group of Danes operated as a terror cell for over a decade without detection?
The answer was devastating for PET. The intelligence service had focused almost exclusively on external threats and right-wing extremism. The idea that Danish left-wing activists could evolve into a professional terrorist organization with international connections simply wasn't on their radar.
The gang had operated under the radar through meticulous planning, cell division and conspiracy techniques reminiscent of West German terrorist groups like the Red Army Faction. But while the RAF was well-known and actively monitored, the Blekinge Street Gang had benefited from Scandinavia's image as a region of peace and dialogue.
The trial against the Blekinge Street Gang became one of the longest in Danish legal history. The prosecution had to prove not just the concrete crimes—bank robberies, weapons possession, document forgery—but also the ideological and financial connection to the PFLP.
The defendants were Jan Weimann, Niels Jørgensen, Torkil Lauesen and four others. Defense attorneys argued that their clients' political motives should be considered mitigating circumstances. The prosecution painted a picture of cold-blooded criminals who had sent millions of kroner to a terrorist organization and compromised Danish security.
Sentences ranged from four to ten years in prison. But the legal and political aftershocks lasted far longer. Danish terror legislation was significantly tightened in the years that followed.
The Blekinge Street Gang fundamentally transformed Danish intelligence services and terrorism legislation. PET underwent a complete restructuring. Focus expanded to include domestic extremism, regardless of political direction. New surveillance methods were approved, and cooperation with international intelligence services intensified.
The case also forced Denmark to acknowledge that left-wing terrorism wasn't an exclusively West German or Italian phenomenon. Scandinavia wasn't immune to ideologically motivated violence, even when it came from within and was driven by people with education, jobs and families.
Politically, the case sparked a years-long debate about how democracies should balance security against civil liberties, and whether ideological conviction can ever justify terror. The Blekinge Street Gang became a study in radicalization, conspiracy techniques and intelligence failure—and remains one of the most unique terror cases in Scandinavian history: a successful left-wing terrorist group that operated undetected for ten years.
The legacy of the Blekinge Street Gang is still visible today: in PET's working methods, in Danish terrorism legislation, and in the collective memory that ideological extremism can take unexpected forms—even in the world's most peaceful corners.