Europol tracks networks that order assassinations remotely after five arrests in three countries

Five suspects accused of ordering, organising or recruiting people for serious acts of violence have been arrested in Spain, Morocco and France as part of Operation GRIMM, coordinated by Europol. The investigation targets the upper levels of the model described as “violence as a service”, in which even minors are recruited online for attacks.

Five people suspected of holding important positions in networks that order and organise serious acts of violence have been arrested in Spain, Morocco and France as part of Operational Taskforce GRIMM, coordinated by Europol. The arrests, carried out in August and September, target individuals whom investigators allege ordered attacks, recruited perpetrators or coordinated violence from countries other than those where the acts were to be committed.

In brief

Five suspects were arrested in Spain, Morocco and France in operations conducted in August and September.

Europol describes them as individuals suspected of operating at the upper levels of “violence as a service” networks by ordering, financing or organising attacks.

The most recent suspect was arrested in Paris on 29 September and is being investigated for allegedly inciting the preparation of a murder.

One of the suspects arrested in Spain is wanted in connection with approximately 20 serious offences, including murders and attempted murders targeting rival criminal groups.

Europol warns that young people, including minors, are being recruited through social networks and messaging apps with promises of money, status or membership in a group.

The most recent arrest took place in Paris on 29 September. French authorities, in cooperation with Swedish police and Europol, detained a man aged approximately 25 suspected of inciting the preparation of a murder. Europol classifies him as a High Value Target within GRIMM because of his alleged role in recruiting people to commit acts of violence on order.

The operation focuses on the shift away from the traditional model in which investigations primarily focus on the person who actually commits the attack. Europol describes a broader structure in which an instigator may finance or request violence, a recruiter finds someone willing to carry out the act, and other participants facilitate access to weapons, transport or payment. Members of this structure may operate from different countries and do not have to be present at the location where the attack takes place.

This physical distance is one of the vulnerabilities that GRIMM seeks to reduce. Those coordinating attacks may try to conceal their involvement by using intermediaries, online accounts and cross-border communications, while perpetrators assume the immediate risk of the act and police intervention. Cooperation between authorities in several countries is necessary precisely to reconstruct the link between the person ordering the violence and the person carrying it out.

Another suspect was arrested in Sitges, Spain, on 1 August. He is a 21-year-old Swedish national whom the authorities are investigating in connection with approximately 20 serious offences, including murders and attempted murders allegedly targeting rival criminal groups.

According to Europol, he allegedly trained young people recruited to carry out assassinations and other attacks, including in the use of firearms and explosives that he allegedly supplied. His profile had been published in May on the EU Most Wanted platform, and within GRIMM he was considered a high-value target for investigators.

Three further arrests were made in Morocco. In Tangier, on 12 September, the authorities detained a 28-year-old Danish national wanted for allegedly inciting murders and kidnappings. He was also listed on EU Most Wanted and classified as a High Value Target in the operation coordinated by Europol.

Also in Tangier, a 21-year-old Swedish national was arrested in September. Investigators believe he held a leadership role in the Foxtrot criminal network. The authorities were looking for him over alleged incitement to violent acts committed in Sweden and Norway, and his profile had been published on EU Most Wanted in April.

A third arrest in Morocco took place in Agadir on 25 September. A 31-year-old Swedish national was detained for two alleged offences involving the preparation of murders. Swedish police consider him a central figure in coordinating the network’s violent activities and drug trafficking.

Europol’s statement treats all five cases as part of the same operational effort, but the allegations and circumstances differ from one suspect to another. The fact that the individuals are associated with the same operation does not mean that they are all accused of the same offences or that they belong to a single criminal structure.

One of the authorities’ main concerns is the recruitment of young people to carry out attacks. Europol says that social networks and messaging apps are used to identify and attract young people, including minors, who are promised money, status or a sense of belonging to a group.

Under this model, the perpetrator may be geographically and organisationally separate from the person ordering the attack. Online recruitment enables a network to quickly find people in another city or country, while orders, payments and instructions may pass through intermediaries. It is precisely this fragmentation that makes identifying the organisers require information-sharing and coordinated investigations across multiple jurisdictions.

Operational Taskforce GRIMM was created to trace these cross-border connections and identify not only the material perpetrators but also those suspected of financing, organising or facilitating attacks. Europol provides operational support, information exchange and intelligence analysis to the participating national authorities.

Europol presents the arrest of people at the upper levels of the networks as a way to reduce their ability to order new attacks and recruit other young people. However, the statement does not claim that Operation GRIMM has eliminated the phenomenon or that all networks involved have been dismantled.

The five people are suspects, and the allegations described by Europol do not constitute final convictions. Determining criminal responsibility for each of the investigated acts rests with the competent judicial authorities in the states involved.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/news/europol-urmareste-retelele-care-comanda-asasinate-de-la-distanta-dupa-cinci-arestari-in-trei-tari