Teenage Hitmen Recruited by Iranian Gang Across Europe
· news
Europe’s “Games” with Teenage Hitmen
The recent conviction of Norwegian teenager Johannes Natland for a planned killing in West Yorkshire has drawn attention to the disturbing trend of organized crime groups recruiting teenagers as hitmen across Europe. This phenomenon is not new; it’s a symptom of a larger issue: the calculated outsourcing of violence by state sponsors.
For years, investigators have tracked the activities of the Foxtrot Network, an Iranian-linked gang with a penchant for using social media to recruit vulnerable young people. These groups often target teenagers in care or with troubled pasts, promising them cash and guiding them through the process like characters in a game. Atilla Azimov’s case serves as a chilling example: he was led to his victim on a February night in Stockholm.
The Foxtrot Network’s tactics are calculating and ruthless. By exploiting the vulnerabilities of these teenagers, they create an army of disposable hitmen who can be used for various purposes, from turf wars to targeted assassinations. The fact that most of them don’t receive payment when caught is not a coincidence; it’s a deliberate policy designed to minimize risk and maximize control.
The Iranian regime’s involvement in the Foxtrot Network raises serious questions about state complicity in these crimes. Investigative journalist Diamant Salihu notes that links between the regime and the gang date back to October 2023, when Majid fled to Tehran and made a deal with the regime in exchange for freedom.
This is not just about individual teenagers being exploited; it’s about the institutionalization of violence as a tool of statecraft. The Foxtrot Network and its Iranian sponsors are essentially creating a shadow army of teenage hitmen willing to carry out their dirty work without question or hesitation. Europol’s European Serious and Organised Crime Centre head, Andy Kraag, describes this phenomenon as the “calculated outsourcing of murder” to vulnerable young people.
The implications are far-reaching. If state sponsors can use teenagers as disposable assets in a game of global cat-and-mouse, it highlights our collective failure to protect these children. The Natland case illustrates how easily teenagers can be co-opted into this system and left to fend for themselves once caught.
These cases are not just statistics or crime stories; they’re about human lives lost, families torn apart, and communities traumatized by the calculated use of violence. Each time a teenage hitman is convicted, it’s essential to remember their story and what led them down this path.
As we investigate and prosecute these crimes, it’s crucial to hold accountable those who enabled this system in the first place – including state sponsors who see value in using teenagers as disposable assets. The Foxtrot Network has been sanctioned by the UK government, but this raises questions about our willingness to confront the root causes of this problem.
The fight against teenage hitmen is not just a law enforcement issue; it’s a moral and human one. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and future generations to ensure that violence is never “gamified” or outsourced again – but instead confronted head-on with courage, compassion, and accountability.
Reader Views
- ADAnalyst D. Park · policy analyst
The Foxtrot Network's exploitation of vulnerable teenagers raises disturbing questions about the normalization of violence in state-sponsored activities. While the article highlights the Iranian regime's involvement, it overlooks the potential for these tactics to be emulated by other states or organized crime groups. The trend suggests a systemic problem, not just an aberration, and policy makers must consider the long-term implications of allowing states to cultivate proxy forces through manipulation and coercion.
- CMColumnist M. Reid · opinion columnist
The Foxtrot Network's use of teenagers as hitmen is a symptom of a more insidious problem: the blurring of lines between state-sponsored terror and organized crime. By exploiting vulnerable youth, these groups create a layer of plausible deniability for their actions. But what about the long-term consequences for these teenagers? Will they be rehabilitated or will they become permanent fixtures in this shadow army, forced to carry out atrocities until they're discarded like used goods? We need to examine the systemic issues driving this phenomenon, not just condemn the Iranian regime's involvement.
- CSCorrespondent S. Tan · field correspondent
The Foxtrot Network's brazen recruitment of teenagers as hitmen exposes a glaring weakness in European law enforcement: their inability to track and dismantle networks across borders. While attention is focused on the Iranian regime's complicity, we must not overlook the role of Western intelligence agencies, which have historically turned a blind eye to these operations in exchange for strategic advantages. The real game-changer here would be increased cooperation between nations to take down the Foxtrot Network and sever its ties with state sponsors once and for all.