How Iran-linked gang recruits teens as hitmen for violent attacks across Europe

A Norwegian teenager has been convicted in Britain for plotting to carry out a contract killing allegedly ordered by the Sweden-based Foxtrot Network, a criminal gang accused of recruiting children and vulnerable teenagers across Europe to carry out murders, bombings and arson for money.

The teenager, Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, was found guilty by an Old Bailey jury after travelling from Norway to England in March last year to carry out what prosecutors described as a planned assassination. Police intercepted him at a hotel in Huddersfield before the attack, recovering two firearms, 19 rounds of ammunition and £2,000 in cash. Natland had agreed to carry out the killing for €25,000 (over 27 lakhs rupees).

HOW A TEENAGER WAS DRAWN INTO THE PLOT

The BBC and several other British media outlets reported that Natland's descent into the Foxtrot Network followed years of drug addiction and mental health issues. After undergoing rehabilitation and spending time in a children's home, he encountered another teenager known online as "UnknownHustler", who drew him into the gang's network.

Investigators said he was later added to encrypted chat groups where users operating under aliases such as "Generalen" and "Agent 47" coordinated every step of the operation. They booked his travel to England, directed him to hidden weapons and cash drops, and instructed him through messaging apps. When police arrested him, he had reportedly not even been told who the intended victim was.

According to Operational Taskforce (OTF) GRIMM, an Europol-led initiative set up to combat organised crime, this recruitment model is known as "violence-as-a-service" (VaaS). Young recruits are allegedly guided through assignments almost like players in a video game. Andy Kraag, head of Europol's European Serious and Organised Crime Centre, described it as the "calculated outsourcing of murder" to vulnerable teenagers.

INSIDE THE FOXTROT NETWORK

The conviction has also renewed attention on the Foxtrot Network itself. According to The Daily Mail, the organisation emerged in Sweden in the late 2010s before expanding into Norway and other parts of Europe. Led by Swedish-Iraqi national Rawa Majid, also known as "The Kurdish Fox," the network has been accused of recruiting teenagers -- sometimes as young as 13 -- through encrypted messaging apps and social media to carry out shootings, grenade attacks and bombings.

Recruiters operate through a layered hierarchy. Senior figures commission and finance attacks, while younger recruiters advertise jobs online and identify vulnerable teenagers willing to carry out crimes for cash. According to the report, recruits have allegedly been offered between £20,000 and £60,000 for attacks, with many unaware of who ordered the crime.

According to the BBC, investigators believe the Foxtrot Network's activities now extend beyond organised crime. Police suspect some operations have been conducted on behalf of Iran, including attacks targeting Israeli interests in Europe, while others remain linked to gang rivalries and drug trafficking. The UK sanctioned both Majid and the Foxtrot Network in 2025.

European investigators say the Foxtrot case illustrates a broader trend rather than an isolated incident. According to the BBC, Europol's OTF GRIMM task force has made more than 280 arrests across 11 countries, but officials warn that other organised crime groups have already adopted the same recruitment model.

- Ends