Sweden's Foxtrot network has developed a 'violence-as-a-service' model, recruiting minors across the continent to carry out murders and attacks, prompting Europol to launch a special investigation.
European investigators are increasingly concerned about the rise in criminal activities where minors play a central role. The focus is on the Swedish organization Foxtrot, which is estimated to be responsible for approximately 35 murders since 2022, along with a series of explosive and hand grenade attacks targeting various locations across Europe.
The group has perfected a business model described as 'violence as a service.' Instead of paying experienced hitmen, Foxtrot systematically seeks out teenagers and young adults through social platforms and messaging apps. They are offered significant sums of money for carrying out dangerous tasks, often receiving instructions in a format reminiscent of video games. Paradoxically, most of these young people are caught before or immediately after the action, so the promised payment often never materializes.
One of the most drastic examples occurred last week in London, where the Old Bailey court found Norwegian teenager Johannes Natland guilty of conspiracy to murder. He was hired for a hit in West Yorkshire and was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield, where two firearms and ammunition were found. According to investigation data, he was contacted by a boy he met at a care home for children, and was offered around £21,000 for the crime. This case echoes an earlier incident involving Attila Azimov, who killed an innocent person for money and received a life sentence.
At the helm of the entire operation is Rawa Majid, better known by the nickname 'Kurdish Fox.' According to available information, he is currently hiding in Iran, in the capital Tehran. Analysts believe that after his relocation to that country, part of the network's capacity has been redirected to carrying out attacks on individuals and institutions that the Iranian regime perceives as hostile, particularly Israeli and Jewish interests in Europe.
In response to the escalation of this phenomenon, Europol has formed an operational task force named GRIMM. It includes 11 countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Officials emphasize that criminals deliberately target younger perpetrators because they are more prone to taking risks and think less about long-term consequences. Many of the recruited children come from extremely difficult family and social circumstances.
A separate incident in Sweden further illustrates the growing boldness of criminal circles. In April, in the city of Jönköping, two individuals knocked on a man's door, falsely posing as police officers. Threatening him with objects that looked like weapons, they threw him to the floor, tied his hands, and then took electronic devices, clothes, and perfumes from the apartment. As SVT Nyheter reports, both have now been sentenced to prison terms.
