In brief
In a Stockholm suburb a black‑clad gunman murdered a student on 2 August 2026. The killer, 18‑year‑old Atilla Azimov, had been hired by the Foxtrot Network, a crime gang linked to the Iranian regime. The group recruits vulnerable teenagers for cash‑driven murders and has been linked to dozens of killings across eleven European countries. A case in the UK involving a teenage hitman named Johannes Natland highlights how the network uses social media and game‑like instructions to orchestrate attacks. Europol’s Taskforce GRIMM has arrested more than 280 suspects, but the network’s leaders remain abroad and the risk to young people persists.
In a Stockholm suburb a man dressed in black appeared out of the winter night. Carrying a handgun, he approached 20‑year‑old Murad Abdelkader, a student on his way back from a shift at McDonald’s.
The gunman opened fire, repeatedly striking his target until the victim lay motionless. The killer was 18‑year‑old Atilla Azimov, who had already killed an innocent man the previous February on a commission from the Foxtrot Network, a crime group with links to the Iranian regime.
Since 2022 the Foxtrot Network is suspected of about 35 murders and several attacks on Israeli targets in Europe, including explosives and hand‑grenade assaults. The gang pays teenagers to carry out attacks, but they rarely receive the promised money because most are caught.
In the UK a 17‑year‑old named Johannes Natland was convicted of conspiracy to murder for a planned hit in West Yorkshire. Europol’s OTF GRIMM notes that the teenage hitmen are recruited through social media and instruction is given in a gamified way, mimicking video‑game logic.
Natland’s story illustrates the process. He was approached by a teenager with the online handle UnknownHustler and offered a hit for about 21,000 pounds. He was then handed over to a Foxtrot member, called Agent 47, who arranged travel and weapons training via the messaging app Signal.
Agent 47 booked Natland a one‑way ticket to Manchester Airport and guided him each step of the journey. A logistics contact, identified only as “1”, sent Natland maps of weapon caches and cash stashes in the Huddersfield area, then told him he would “have much to do tomorrow.” Natland was arrested the next morning, before he even knew who he was supposed to kill.
Over 15 months OTF GRIMM has arrested more than 280 suspects. Key arrests include a man suspected to be Agent 47, who was detained in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, and a rapper named Moewgli Mussari, arrested in Tunisia. The Foxtrot leader, Rawa Majid, remains abroad in Tehran, where he allegedly directs attacks for the Iranian regime.
