A teenage boy faces life in prison after allegedly attempting to recruit contract killers as a part of a cross-border gang war involving a ‘transnational crime syndicate’.
The 15-year-old from Sweden was arrested in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday morning on suspicion of using an encrypted application to facilitate a global ‘money for killing’ operation.
It’s alleged to have been a part of ‘ongoing gang conflicts within the Nordic region’, in keeping with Deputy Chief Superintendent Lars Feldt-Rasmussen of the Danish police.
He said: ‘While in Australia, the young man is suspected of getting attempted to recruit people to commit contract killings in Denmark and Sweden.’
The boy, who has not been named, has now been charged with two offences – one each in Australia and Denmark.
He faces one count of using a tool connected to a telecommunications network with intention to commit a serious offence of conspiracy to murder.
The 15-year-old faces one other charge of doing the identical with the intention to commit murder.
Each carry sentences of life in prison.
Australian police began investigating the alleged crimes earlier this month after a tip-off from their Danish counterparts about alleged links to contract killings in Europe.
Warning criminals that encrypted communications won’t allow them to avoid detection, Commander Brett James said: ‘If you happen to think you need to use geography to evade law enforcement, you’re mistaken.
‘The AFP (Australian Federal Police) and its partners are all the time watching, sharing intelligence and able to apprehend those that want to harm our communities.’
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