"I can't wait to see my first victim." A European network recruited minors online to commit serious crimes.
2025-12-12 09:43:12
TiranaPost
"I can't wait to see my first victim," wrote an 11-year-old from Sweden on Instagram.
On the other side of the screen, a 19-year-old responded by urging him to continue and even offering him $14,000 to commit a serious crime, while also taking care of transportation and equipment.
The police intervened at the last moment and managed to stop him.
This is not an isolated case. A dangerous phenomenon called "Violence-as-a-Service" is emerging in Europe, where criminal groups use social networks, messaging apps, and gaming platforms to recruit minors, exploiting them for illegal activities.
In April, Europol launched Operation Grimm, which led to the arrest of nearly 200 people in nine European countries. The toll shows the scale of the problem: 63 suspected perpetrators, 40 accomplices, 84 recruiters and 6 main organizers were caught.
Five of them were considered high-risk profiles. Most importantly: dozens of serious crimes were prevented and many young people were saved from involvement in the world of violence.
