European police have uncovered the activities of the international criminal network Foxtrot, which systematically uses teenagers to carry out contract killings and attacks. The organisers recruit young people online and via social media, while the group’s leader is hiding in Iran.
Since 2022, investigations indicate the network has been involved in around 35 murders across Europe, as well as a series of attacks and attempted attacks on Israeli targets, including cases involving explosives and hand grenades. The group operates on a “violence-as-a-service” model: teenagers are offered money to carry out assignments, but the promised sums are often never paid because the perpetrators are quickly arrested.
One well-known case is the murder in a Stockholm suburb committed by 18-year-old Atilla Azimov. He shot the wrong person by mistake and was later sentenced to life imprisonment. Another example is Norwegian teenager Johannes Natland, who was convicted in the UK of conspiracy to murder. He was recruited to kill a person in West Yorkshire; police detained him in a hotel with weapons.
Recruitment takes place through messaging apps and social networks. Instructions are frequently given in a “gamified” format that resembles computer games. Europol has set up a special operational task force, GRIMM, involving 11 countries to combat the phenomenon.
The network’s leader is believed to be Rawa Majid (known as the “Kurdish Fox”). He fled Sweden, then Turkey, and according to investigators is now in Tehran. After moving to Iran in 2023, his group, according to law enforcement and journalists, began carrying out tasks linked to the interests of the Iranian regime, including attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Europe. The UK and the US have imposed sanctions on Majid and the Foxtrot network.
Experts note that the criminals deliberately target vulnerable teenagers — often those with addiction problems or from children’s care facilities — because they are less likely to consider the consequences. The investigation continues.