Foxtrot Network: Tehran-Linked Group Turns European Teenagers into Paid Hitmen

Europe is facing a new wave of organized crime where teenagers are recruited online for contract killings, operating like a video game mission. The Foxtrot network, reportedly connected to the Iranian regime, has transformed assassination into a service for hire, promising cryptocurrency payments to recruits aged 15 to 18.

The case of Johannes Natland, a Norwegian teenager recently convicted in London for a murder plot in Yorkshire, exemplifies this trend. This phenomenon has already spread across 11 European countries. In Stockholm, an 18-year-old named Atilla Azimov was hired by Foxtrot to carry out a killing, but he murdered the wrong person. This highlights the network's reliance on young, often inexperienced individuals for violent acts.

Since 2022, Foxtrot is believed to be responsible for around 35 murders and several attacks targeting Israeli interests in Europe, some involving explosives. The network's modus operandi involves recruiting minors through social media and providing instructions through a gamified system, as described by Europol's OTF GRIMM. This strategy, termed "calculated outsourcing of crime" by Europol's Andy Kraag, targets vulnerable youths.

Europol's Operational Taskforce GRIMM, established to combat this VaaS (Violence as a Service) phenomenon, currently includes 11 affected nations: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Foxtrot's leader, Rawa Majid, has reportedly fled Sweden and Turkey and is now based in Tehran, Iran. Authorities suspect some VaaS attacks may have been commissioned by the Iranian regime.

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calculated outsourcing of crime