Young guns for hire - the teenage hitmen recruited to kill across Europe

Teenage hitmen are being recruited to carry out assassinations across Europe for criminal organizations, a phenomenon dubbed "violence-as-a-service" (VaaS). One such case involved 18-year-old Atilla Azimov, who, in February of last year, fatally shot 20-year-old student Murad Abdelkader in a Stockholm suburb. Azimov, hired by the Foxtrot Network, an organized crime group with alleged ties to the Iranian regime, killed the wrong individual. He was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment for the mistaken killing.

The Foxtrot Network is believed to be responsible for approximately 35 murders since 2022, in addition to various attacks and attempted attacks on Israeli targets in Europe, including two incidents involving explosives and hand grenades. The gang enlists teenagers for these attacks, offering cash payments that are rarely disbursed due to the high rate of arrests.

Johannes Natland, a Norwegian teenager, was recently convicted of conspiracy to murder by a jury at the Old Bailey in London. He was involved in a planned killing in West Yorkshire. Europol's Operational Taskforce (OTF) GRIMM, established to combat this issue, reports that these teenage hitmen are recruited via social media and receive instructions in a "gamified" format, mimicking computer games. Andy Kraag, head of Europol's European Serious and Organised Crime Centre, describes this as the "calculated outsourcing of murder" to vulnerable young individuals. OTF GRIMM currently includes 11 affected countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Rawa Majid, the leader of the Foxtrot Network, has reportedly fled Sweden and his subsequent base in Turkey, now residing in Tehran, Iran. Police suspect some VaaS attacks, such as a hand grenade assault on the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, were carried out on behalf of the Iranian regime, while others are linked to Foxtrot's drug turf wars. Investigative journalist Diamant Salihu of Swedish broadcaster SVT has spent three years researching Foxtrot and its Iranian connections. He states that the Iranian regime is instructing Majid to orchestrate attacks against its adversaries, including dissidents, opposition journalists, and Israeli targets. Salihu indicates that these ties to the Iranian regime began after October 2023, when Majid sought refuge in Tehran, making a deal to operate freely in Iran in exchange for his network's services to the regime. The UK government sanctioned the Foxtrot Network and Majid in April 2025.

The Natland case exemplifies the VaaS system. Natland, from a comfortable background in Stavanger, drifted into drug use, developed psychosis, and spent time in rehab and a children's home. There, he encountered "UnknownHustler," who first sent an online request for a hit in the UK: "Killing in England 270k" (270,000 Norwegian kroner, approximately £21,000). This request originated from "Generalen," a 16-year-old who had spent three years in a children's home and subsequently recruited Natland. Natland was then connected with "Agent 47," a Foxtrot member whose username is derived from the "Hitman" game franchise. Swedish police suspect Ali Shehad Ahmed, a close associate of Majid, to be Agent 47.

Agent 47 arranged Natland's one-way ticket to Manchester Airport and assisted him in obtaining an emergency passport. Using the messaging app Signal, he guided Natland throughout his journey before handing him over to a logistics operative known as "1." Treating Natland like a video game character, "1" provided maps and videos detailing the locations of hidden guns in Huddersfield woodlands and a cash stash near a foot tunnel. Once Natland was settled in his Huddersfield hotel with the weapons, Agent 47 messaged him, "We have much to do tomorrow." Natland was arrested the following morning before being informed of his target. Counterterrorism detectives are still investigating whether the planned hit was criminal or politically motivated for Iran.

"Generalen," the teenager who recruited Natland, was highly active. Besides hiring Natland, he also recruited at least two individuals who committed murders in Sweden: Azimov, serving a life sentence for killing the wrong person, and a 17-year-old who fatally shot Ahmed Zamzam in Lund, southern Sweden, three and a half weeks prior. Neither killer received payment, as both were apprehended. Salihu explained that this is a deliberate strategy by Foxtrot: "They don't care at all if the teenagers get caught. Because when they get caught, they cannot ask for money that they have been offered, and we see no examples of money being paid to these young killers." He added, "It has been a deliberate policy to recruit younger and younger teenagers because they don't think about the consequences of getting caught, and they are more willing to take the risks."

Generalen was eventually apprehended while attempting to arrange the murder of a 14-year-old son of a Norwegian police officer. He recruited a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old for a knife attack, but the 15-year-old alerted the police. Upon Generalen's arrest, details of the Huddersfield murder plot were found on his phone, leading to Natland's timely arrest by British police. Generalen was convicted in May and is serving a 14-year prison sentence.

OTF GRIMM has achieved some successes in its 15 months of operation, with over 280 arrests, including several key suspects. One significant arrest was that of Ahmed, believed to be Agent 47, who was detained in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, and is currently subject to an extradition request to Sweden. Stefan Hector, the Swedish deputy national police commissioner, stated that they are "constantly expanding our co-operation with other countries" to demonstrate to organized criminals that "they cannot feel safe anywhere in the world." In May, Mohamed "Moewgli" Mohdhi, a former rapper described by Swedish police as a "central actor" in Foxtrot, was arrested in Tunisia.

However, Majid remains beyond reach in Iran. Salihu noted, "He's still active. And as long as this network is active we will still continue, I fear, to see attacks on the enemies of the Iranian regime." The extent to which these arrests have weakened Foxtrot's operational capacity is unclear, but other groups, including Foxtrot's rivals the Dalen Network, have already adopted the VaaS method of recruiting vulnerable teenagers for murders, indicating the continued presence of this threat. The phenomenon rapidly spread from Sweden across Scandinavia and northern Europe, reaching the UK last year, as demonstrated by the Natland case.