We have a clear strategy to go after these individuals, regardless of where they are in the world, says Lars Feldt-Rasmussen, vice police inspector from the Danish national police, NSK.
The Swedish teenager is suspected of having tried to recruit people for murder assignments in, among other places, Sweden and Denmark. He is also suspected of being part of a criminal network involved in an ongoing gang conflict in the Nordic region.
Well-known problem
The operation is part of an operation against recruitment chains within criminal networks. NSK reports that the operation will continue and that they will also go after individuals suspected of having "controlled" the Swedish teenager.
We have a clear hypothesis that this 15-year-old has not worked alone, says Lars Feldt-Rasmussen.
Generally, it is very common for gang criminals to recruit from abroad and get people to commit very serious and dangerous crimes via encrypted services. It is a well-known problem since before.
According to Feldt-Rasmussen, the teenager appears in a Danish preliminary investigation that will now continue in Australia.
According to Australian legislation, they cannot extradite individuals who have committed criminal acts on Australian soil. Therefore, we have entered into an agreement with Australia, which will take over the case. We will hand over the evidence.
Known to Swedish police
UD confirms the arrest to TT and states that a 15-year-old Swedish citizen has been detained in Australia. According to Swedish police, the teenager also appears in several Swedish preliminary investigations.
"With reference to the secrecy of preliminary investigations, we will not provide further comments at this time. Now, the cooperation between Swedish, Danish, and Australian police in the case will continue," writes police spokesperson Diana Qudhaib in an email.
NSK suspects that the 15-year-old has ordered the assignments from Australia, where he has lived since the fall of 2024.
We are really happy about the cooperation with Sweden and Australia and that we can jointly get hold of these individuals, even if they are on the other side of the earth, says Lars Feldt-Rasmussen.
