Shortly after the trial was over, Samir was driving home from his apprenticeship as a mechanic when Bekir pulled up next to him. Allegedly, Samir heard him shout from his window that Samir would die. It has never been confirmed this incident occurred, but Samir’s family were worried that Bekir, his nephews, or his associates would target Samir and his brothers in order to finish what I had supposedly started.
Samir also felt that I deserved far more than only twenty-one months in jail. Since the system had shown it didn’t value his life and wasn’t willing to protect him, he had to seek security elsewhere. He eventually found it in a neighboring city with a notorious immigrant gang who wore insignias on their backs depicting a snake baring its fangs and rearing back to strike. They called themselves Black Cobra.
Throughout the years, Samir has repeatedly denied being a member of Black Cobra, but according to a national newspaper that published a series of articles about him in 2008, local law enforcement officials had no doubt that he was affiliated with them.
Samir went from being the captain of the Banana Boys soccer team that was created as a deterrent to gang culture and a strong, positive role model in Gersager Park to someone who ventured deeper and deeper into the criminal underworld. Maybe he did it because he felt he had no other choice. It’s also possible he just gave up being the good guy after realizing that it wasn’t going to be his salvation, given the circumstances. Several teachers and policemen described Samir as a real light in the darkness who unfortunately ended up on the wrong path.
Samir has declined to be interviewed for this book, so this chapter has been pieced together by interviews of our own sources, plus thorough research of available documents and media coverage.
Now that Samir was connected to Black Cobra, Bekir faced a strong enemy. Bekir’s original vision of a large gang under the name of The Iron Fist was no longer realistic, but the police still regarded him as the powerful leader of multiple Arab clans in Askerød. The police and the media dubbed the gang “the Bekir Boys” and estimated that they made their money selling narcotics and laundering money through online businesses.
Bekir has been convicted very few times, but one count of drug trafficking resulting in him spending three years in prison serves as evidence that he was involved in the drug trade. Even though I once ran with the Bekir Boys, I never dabbled in drug trafficking or dealing hard drugs on the outside. One of my friends, Hedgehog, who has close ties with the Hells Angels, once served a six-year sentence for dealing cocaine. I simply refused to have anything to do with the hard drug trade.
The enmity between Samir and Bekir was of a personal nature, based on more than just opposing gang affiliations. Samir’s father was a strong man who refused to be bullied, and he passed that trait on to his sons. Samir and Zaki tried to lead normal lives. Sure, they got into fights, but they were decent people. We weren’t. Our leaders could’ve helped make peace after what had happened between me and Samir, but they didn’t want to.
I also made a big mistake myself. During a conditional release, I went to Hundige Mall. Here, I ran into Samir, his friend whom I had stabbed, and a third guy I had also been in a fight with once. What were the odds?
“How could you do that to me? I’m entitled to revenge, you know,” Samir said.
“Then take your revenge. But remember, I was convicted and got locked up. I did my time.”
Samir continued: “I’ll never forget what you did to me.”
“That’s fair, Samir.”
I still got the feeling that Samir was reaching out. He told me he was gonna be the bigger man, and I think he meant it. I think he was ready to forgive and not take revenge if I apologized. His father also tried to reconcile things between us. We were never gonna be best friends again. We were just supposed to tolerate each other.
I could’ve taken his hand right there and made peace. But I didn’t, partly because the others were standing there screaming, and partly because I was stupid and felt some kind of twisted loyalty to Bekir and the others, who didn’t want to reconcile. Listening to them was a big mistake. When Samir told me that he was the bigger man, I knew in my heart that I was the bad guy. Today, I realize that a lot of the shit that went down in Askerød later on could have been avoided if I had only taken his hand.
On May 13, 2001, back when I was still behind bars, the cold war between Bekir’s family and Samir’s family turned into a matter of life and death in a parking lot behind Hundige Mall. An incident occurred, resulting in Samir shooting Bekir in the face and then shooting Bekir’s nephew who rushed to his aid in the chest and abdomen.
They both survived the shooting and Samir was taken into custody. He was only sentenced to two and a half years in prison largely due to the fact Samir seemed to be acting in self defense as he was surrounded by Bekir’s men and likely could’ve died that day.
It wasn’t possible to access the legal documents in this case, but according to the information available, the mitigating circumstances were based on the fact that Bekir was carrying a knife, which he used to threaten Samir’s father. Samir was therefore not convicted for shooting Bekir, as he was defending his father, but only for the shots fired at Bekir’s nephew. Bekir avoided conviction.