(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
International press and US authorities do not distinguish between Black Ax and Neo-Black Movement (NMB), but refer to them as the same organization.
A Facebook page calls itself otherwise «NBM aka BLACK AX».
Black Ax likes to try to recruit members among Nigerian migrants, such as Don Emeka (pictured above). He claims to have been assaulted with ax by Black Ax members when he did not want to be part of their criminal activity, reports The Vice.
Machets, ax and glowing irons
Black Ax is called "Italy's fifth mafia" of the Danish Weekendavisen, who writes about street battles in Turin 15 years ago between Black Ax members and rival Nigerian Supreme Eiye Confraternity (SEC), which used machetes, axes, knives and red-hot irons in the battle for the drug market. More recently, the group has tried to recruit migrants, and a number of Black Ax members were indicted and convicted in Denmark in 2015. The newspaper writes that Black Ax is well organized, has a criminal strategy and political and financial contacts. The newspaper also claims that there is evidence of their presence in Denmark, and describes in detail the voodoo ritual used to force victims into submission.
Drug trial in Sweden
According to Swedish newspapers, Black Ax has gained a foothold in Sweden, where links to the group were revealed, among other things, by rolling up a extensive drug case in Sweden last fall (trial is ongoing), as well as prostitution at Stureplan in Stockholm. During the investigation of the drug case, mobile phones were found with dozens of execution videos. "The brutal films are used to spread fear and to set an example", Actor Anna Svedin told Aftonbladet in December last year.
Police: Black Ax involved in kidnapping
US authorities, FBI agents and Canadian police have found links Nigeria and Black Ax i a whole host of scams, where the victims are tricked or threatened to transfer money.
Toronto police say the group is involved in everything from kidnapping to extortion and theft (including $ 500 million worth of SUVs). The members are called "Axemen," and Canadian police believe there are 30 of them in Canada.
An NBM spokesman in Canada claims they are volunteering and working with MSF during the Eebola crisis, and that they have donated money and toys to a Toronto hospital "several times". A representative for Doctors Without Borders in Canada claims never to have heard of NBM. The hospital says they received "a couple of toys once", according to The Vice.
In 2010, Europol prepared an internal report on African mafia, but the press will not have access to it, according to Weekendavisen.
(Sources: Aftonbladet, Weekendavisen, The US Department of Justice, The Guardian, Tampa Bay Times, The Vice, Berlingke Tidende, Expressen, Sveriges Radio.)
Read more: Italy's fifth mafia
