Teenager charged in Sydney over alleged role in Nordic cash for killing operation

A Sydney teen is facing the prospect of life in jail after he was allegedly caught trying to recruit people to commit contract murders across northern Europe in exchange for cash.

A 15-year-old boy has been ­accused of trying to recruit people to commit contract murders across Europe from his computer in Sydney, after his parents moved him to Australia to distance him from his alleged links to Nordic gangs.

The boy is facing the prospect of life in prison if found guilty, after police swooped on the Sydney home he was living in yesterday morning, following reports he had been involved in the cash for killing operation.

The Australian Federal Police were informed about the teenager’s alleged involvement in the Nordic underworld earlier this month, after Danish police discovered his alleged attempts to organise crime-as-a-service (CAAS) contract killings in Sweden and Denmark.

CAAS contract killings involve individuals or groups outsourcing criminal activities to third parties and using online platforms and encrypted messaging to plan and execute the illegal acts.

The 15-year-old was arrested in Sydney today. Picture: AFP

Police alleged the boy arrived in Australia last year, with his parents viewing the move as a way of severing his ties to drug-fuelled gang wars in Sweden and Denmark.

However, while in Sydney, police allege he kept contact with a gang and assisted in trying to recruit killers via encrypted messages in exchange for cash and firearms.

Police spent hours at the property yesterday, seizing electronic devices, including a desktop computer.

The teen was arrested and taken to the AFP’s city headquarters, where he was charged with two counts of using a ­device connected to a telecommunications network with intention to commit a serious offence, namely conspiracy to murder — one punishable under the Australian Criminal Code, and one under the Danish Penal Code.

The youth is suspected of having attempted to recruit people to commit contract killings in Denmark and Sweden. Picture: AFP

“While in Australia, the young man is suspected of ­having attempted to recruit people to commit contract killings in Denmark and Sweden as part of ongoing gang conflicts in the Nordic region,” Danish Police Deputy Chief Superintendent of the National Special Crime Unit Lars Feldt-Rasmussen said.

Speaking generally, AFP Commander Brett James said criminals wrongly believed that encrypted communications could “provide anonymity” when facilitating horrendous crimes.

“The AFP and its partners are a step ahead,” Commander James said.

“If you think you can use geography to evade law enforcement, you’re mistaken.”

The boy faced Surry Hills Children’s Court yesterday, where he was refused bail.

Originally published as Teenager charged in Sydney over alleged role in Nordic cash for killing operation