This article on pay to kill is paywalled

"Since 2022, the Foxtrot Network is thought to have been responsible for about 35 murders as well as a number of attacks and attempted attacks on Israeli targets in Europe including two involving explosives and hand grenades. The gang recruits teenagers to carry out the attacks for cash, but it almost never has to pay out as they often get caught.

...

The leader of the Foxtrot Network, Rawa Majid, has fled Sweden and his later operating base in Turkey, and is now based in the Iranian capital Tehran. Police believe some of the VaaS attacks have been carried out for the Iranian regime, including a hand grenade attack on the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, though other attacks are part of Foxtrot's drugs turf wars.

...

The links to the Iranian regime started after October 2023 when Majid fled to Tehran, Salihu said. 'He had to make a deal to be able to live freely in Iran, under condition that he and his network work for the regime.'

The Foxtrot Network and Majid were sanctioned by the UK government in April 2025."

Very concerning.

> Using the messaging app Signal, he guided Natland at every stage of his journey before handing him on to a logistics man with the username "1".

The same encrypted messaging platform most people here use are also used by criminals.

This will be another reason why Europe wants to either ban Signal (not a good idea) or have Chat Control legislation. We do not want any of that.

> violence-as-a-service (VaaS)

This being used unironically makes me sad.

The underlying problem in most cases (of youth violence across the world) is drug addiction. I recently spoke to someone who had to quit an overseas job and return home because his teenage son had started engaging in criminality, after a drug addiction problem at school. He was telling me how widespread the problem is, and how accessible drugs are to kids via online channels.

Can’t wait for a Foxtrot x Polymarket collab.