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2 days ago
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Seven people, including a 14-year-old, have been arrested or surrendered to Danish authorities after allegedly using encrypted messaging apps to hire other teenagers for contract killings in what Europol calls a "violence-as-a-service" operation.
All of those arrested or surrendered are between the ages of 14 and 26. This includes two 18-year-old men cuffed in Western Sweden and suspected of actively recruiting youngsters to commit targeted killings in Denmark and Sweden. Other suspects, according to law enforcement, provided weapons, ammunition, and safe houses for the hitmen.
The arrests follow "multiple" investigations into attempted murders ordered via encrypted chat services, including one on May 7 in Kokkedal, Denmark, according to Europol.
This is part of Europol's Operational Taskforce GRIMM, which aims to stop the growing use of encrypted services to coordinate contract killings across Europe, dubbed "violence-as-a-service" by the international cops.
Swedish police lead the effort, with support from law enforcement in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Norway.
The task force started up in April, and that same month, Australian police arrested a 15-year-old boy in Western Sydney, accused of facilitating contract killing in Europe using encrypted messaging apps.
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He was arrested in his home on April 16, following an earlier investigation that started with a tip from Danish police about a foreign national living in Australia who was allegedly connected to organized crime in Europe.
"While in Australia, the young man is suspected of having attempted to recruit people to commit contract killings in Denmark and Sweden as part of ongoing gang conflicts in the Nordic region," Danish Police Deputy Chief Superintendent of the National Special Crime Unit Lars Feldt-Rasmussen said.
Swedish police also assisted in the investigation and subsequent arrest, during which cops seized the boy's electronic devices.
Teenagers being paid to pull the trigger — this is what organized crime looks like in 2025
Europol data from November suggests that minors are involved in more than 70 percent of criminal markets include cybercrime and online fraud, drug trafficking and related violence, human trafficking, and property crime. These teens are typically recruited online by other criminals using social media encrypted messaging services.
"Teenagers being paid to pull the trigger — this is what organized crime looks like in 2025," Andy Kraag, head of Europol's European Serious Organised Crime Centre, said in a statement. "We are not dealing with petty street crime. This is calculated outsourcing of murder by criminal networks that treat human lives as disposable assets." ®
