In brief
Teenage hitmen are now being paid to carry out killings across Europe, a practice that has been linked to the Foxtrot network and, increasingly, to the Iranian regime. The story of 18‑year‑old Atilla Azimov, who mistakenly killed a student, and 19‑year‑old Johannes Natland, who was recruited to help a murder, shows how social media and online gaming frameworks have been repurposed for violence. Europol’s Operational Taskforce GRIMM has made over 280 arrests, but the network’s leaders still evade capture. The consequences of this violence‑as‑a‑service model are still unfolding as several rival groups start to adopt the same tactics.
In an icy Stockholm suburb on the night of 5 February 2025, an 18‑year‑old named Atilla Azimov walked out of darkness with a handgun. He approached 20‑year‑old Murad Abdelkader, a summer‑shift employee at a McDonald’s, and, after a volley of shots, buried the student in a head wound. Azimov, the killer, had been paid by Foxtrot, a crime syndicate that has long been tied to a violent‑as‑a‑service (VaaS) model now linked to the Iranian regime.
The Foxtrot Network recruits teenagers across Europe, luring them through social media and “gamified” instructions that mimic popular video‑games. Whoever puts an up‑to‑date map on a scroll, who instructs a young recruit on where to hide a weapon, is effectively commissioning murder. Europol’s Operational Taskforce GRIMM has recorded more than 280 arrests in 11 countries since 2022.
One of the most chilling cases is that of 19‑year‑old Johannes Natland, who was recruited online and travelled to Huddersfield with a weapon and a stash of cash. He was arrested the next morning, but the target of his killing was never identified. Natland was a son of journalists with a comfortable upbringing before falling into drugs and psychosis. He later met the online assassin “UnknownHustler,” who hired him for “Killing in England 270k.” These payments were made in Norwegian kroner, a value that converts to roughly £21,000.
The Foxtrot Network’s leader, Rawa Majid, fled Sweden and then established a base in Turkey before moving to Tehran. From there he is believed to have steered attacks against Israel‑connected sites such as the embassy in Copenhagen, while also funding drug‑turf wars in Sweden. In April 2025 the UK government sanctioned him and his network under the ‘Iranian‑organised crime’ order.
Despite successes, the network remains largely intact. Investigations at the Swedish Police’s National Police Office identified an agent known online as “Agent 47” who helped orchestrate Natland’s trip and provided instructions from a message on the Signal app. The man behind the pseudonym, Ali Shehad Ahmed, has been extradited to Sweden from Iraq after being detained in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq. He is considered a central figure in what is being called the new era of young‑person violence.
While Foxtrot was the most publicly known VaaS operator, other groups, notably the Dalen Network, have already adopted the same methods, extending the threat beyond Scandinavia into central Europe, the United Kingdom and beyond.
OTF GRIMM continues to press on, expanding international cooperation and targeting key offenders. The group remains concerned about the possibility of future attacks, warning that as long as this network is active, “we continue to see attacks on the enemies of the Iranian regime.”
This story is derived from Reuters and BBC investigative reporting, with official statements from the Swedish Police, Europol, and the UK government. For in‑depth background on the network’s links to Iran and the broader VaaS phenomenon, see the related links below.
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