- Christiania residents confront drug traffickers with street demolition
- Decades-long battle with authorities over Copenhagen’s Christiania enclave
- Copenhagen’s Christiania takes action against persistent drug trafficking
Hippie residents of the Copenhagen enclave Christiania have conflicted with authorities for decades, except in recent years; however, problem drug traffickers continue to plague the area.
Danish hippies demolished a street as a form of resistance against drug traffickers and criminals.
Over fifty years ago, hippies commandeered an abandoned naval base in Copenhagen and transformed it into the Christiania neighbourhood.
Residents contested authorities for decades as they disregarded the law and refused to pay utility bills before acquiring ownership of the 84-acre property.
Along the appropriately named Pusher Street, the community has long been plagued by drug traffickers, who insisted that newcomers reside there through a relative.
Marijuana was brazenly sold by criminals, which frequently resulted in violent confrontations with police.
Approximately one thousand Danes now reside in the area, but the locals have had enough and have resorted to violence.
They dismantled the cobblestone Pusher Street brick by brick on April 6.
To the masses ‘ delight, two young Christiania residents, Sally and Emilia, removed the first cobblestone from the notorious street shortly after 10:00 a.m.
Peter Hummelgaard, the Danish minister of justice, attended and stated to the Danish broadcaster TV2: “Christiania and the illicit trade of narcotics have been a significant challenge to the established society for over four decades.
However, the time has come for the Christianians to have also had enough of these criminal organisations.
After forty years of residing in Christiania, Hulda Mader declared, “We no longer desire the gangsters.”
“After the illegal trade ceases, some individuals may continue to sell hashish, but they will not do so openly,” she further stated.
According to Mette Prag, coordinator of a forthcoming public housing initiative in the enclave, the objective is to establish a “new Christiania devoid of the illicit hashish market.”
After cobblestones are removed, new water pipes and pavements will be installed, and adjacent structures will be renovated in preparation for the construction of new homes.
These are the initial stages of a strategy to incorporate the bohemian enclave into Copenhagen.
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Before their reconstruction, Christianites and locals attempted to halt drug sales on Pusher Street by demolishing the traffickers’ booths. However, their efforts were in vain.
Then, they erected enormous shipping containers to block access to the street, but masked men removed them, and commerce continued despite police crackdowns.
In August of last year, the elderly enclave decided to address the drug problem head-on, aware of the government’s declaration that eliminating the drug traffickers was “a crucial prerequisite” before the community was granted the allocated 14.3 million kroner (£1.6 million) for renovations.
Drug-related tensions escalated during the same month when a shooting reportedly resulted from a turf conflict, which caused one fatality and multiple injuries.
