Latest news with #BrettJames
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Yahoo
Schoolboy arrested on suspicion of trying to hire hitmen to carry out contract killings
A Swedish schoolboy has been arrested in Australia after allegedly trying to hire hitmen to carry out contract killings. The 15-year-old is said to have offered one assassin £15,600 and a gun to commit a murder in Denmark. The teenager, who cannot be identified because of his age, was apprehended while living with his extended family in Sydney. The boy is suspected of recruiting the hitmen through an encrypted messaging device on behalf of a 'transnational crime syndicate' operating in Scandinavia. Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested the teenager on Wednesday during an early morning raid. Forensic officers are trawling through electronic devices seized in the raid to uncover further evidence. The teenager had been sent to stay with his extended family in Australia in late 2024 after he fell in with a violent criminal gang vying for control of the lucrative drug markets in Scandinavia, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported. The boy is said, however, to have remained in contact with gang members online after he emigrated and helped them plot murders. Police swooped after receiving intelligence from their Danish counterparts of a foreign national living in Australia who was allegedly linked to attempts to organise contract killings in Europe. The boy has been charged with using telecommunications services to orchestrate murder. There were no confirmed deaths as a result of his actions, police said. He appeared before Surry Hills Children's Court and was refused is scheduled to reappear before the same court on June 11. According to reports, the boy had been living in a quiet suburban street in Sydney. Social media photos of him in gold jewellery and Louis Vuitton designer clothes showed him 'trying to cultivate a gangster image'. Lars Feldt-Rasmussen, deputy chief superintendent of Denmark's National Special Crime Unit, said: '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. 'This case highlights our collaborative and effective international police cooperation and shows that we are united in our fight against cross-border crime.' Brett James from the AFP, said: 'The AFP regularly works with foreign policing partners, such as the Danish Police, and the identification of these alleged international criminal links is a testament to the enduring partnership and collaboration between our agencies.' Sweden is in the grip of a wave of gang violence where children are often recruited to carry out bombings and contract murders. In January 2025 alone, there were approximately 30 gang-related explosions reported in the country, often in residential areas and mostly concentrated in Stockholm, an EU report found. As of 2024, an estimated 62,000 individuals were involved in or connected to criminal networks in Sweden, according to The Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security, a think tank formed by postgraduate students from University College London. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
17-04-2025
- Telegraph
Schoolboy arrested on suspicion of trying to hire hitmen to carry out contract killings
A Swedish schoolboy has been arrested in Australia after allegedly trying to hire hitmen to carry out contract killings. The 15-year-old is said to have offered one assassin £15,600 and a gun to commit a murder in Denmark. The teenager, who cannot be identified because of his age, was apprehended while living with his extended family in Sydney. The boy is suspected of recruiting the hitmen through an encrypted messaging device on behalf of a 'transnational crime syndicate' operating in Scandinavia. Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested the teenager on Wednesday during an early morning raid. Forensic officers are trawling through electronic devices seized in the raid to uncover further evidence. The teenager had been sent to stay with his extended family in Australia in late 2024 after he fell in with a violent criminal gang vying for control of the lucrative drug markets in Scandinavia, the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported. The boy is said, however, to have remained in contact with gang members online after he emigrated and helped them plot murders. 'United in fight against cross-border crime' Police swooped after receiving intelligence from their Danish counterparts of a foreign national living in Australia who was allegedly linked to attempts to organise contract killings in Europe. The boy has been charged with using telecommunications services to orchestrate murder. There were no confirmed deaths as a result of his actions, police said. He appeared before Surry Hills Children's Court and was refused is scheduled to reappear before the same court on June 11. According to reports, the boy had been living in a quiet suburban street in Sydney. Social media photos of him in gold jewellery and Louis Vuitton designer clothes showed him 'trying to cultivate a gangster image'. Lars Feldt-Rasmussen, deputy chief superintendent of Denmark's National Special Crime Unit, said: '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. 'This case highlights our collaborative and effective international police cooperation and shows that we are united in our fight against cross-border crime.' Brett James from the AFP, said: 'The AFP regularly works with foreign policing partners, such as the Danish Police, and the identification of these alleged international criminal links is a testament to the enduring partnership and collaboration between our agencies.' Sweden is in the grip of a wave of gang violence where children are often recruited to carry out bombings and contract murders. In January 2025 alone, there were approximately 30 gang-related explosions reported in the country, often in residential areas and mostly concentrated in Stockholm, an EU report found. As of 2024, an estimated 62,000 individuals were involved in or connected to criminal networks in Sweden, according to The Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security, a think tank formed by postgraduate students from University College London.
Miami Herald
17-04-2025
- Miami Herald
15-year-old helped organize international contract killings, Australia cops say
A teen is accused of trying to recruit hitmen to commit contract killings in Europe from a computer in Sydney, Australian police say. Law enforcement in Australia was alerted by Danish police in April that a foreign national living in Australia may be part of a 'crime-as-a-service' scheme for killings planned in Europe, according to an April 16 news release from the Australian Federal Police. The 15-year-old was reported to be a Swedish national by 9News, an Australian news outlet. 'Crime-as-a-service contract killings involve individuals or groups outsourcing criminal activities to third parties and using online platforms and social media to plan and execute the illegal acts,' police said. A search of the teen's electronics at a home in western Sydney showed he was 'using an encrypted application' to organize killings 'on behalf of a transnational criminal syndicate,' according to police. The teen was working to plan killings in Denmark and Sweden on behalf of Nordic gangs amid ongoing conflicts, Danish police said in the release. The 15-year-old was arrested on April 16 and charged with using telecommunications with intent to commit conspiracy to murder and using telecommunications with intent to commit murder, both of which are punishable by life in prison, police said. 'If you think you can use geography to evade law enforcement, you're mistaken — the (Australian Federal Police) and its partners are always watching, sharing intelligence and ready to apprehend those who wish to harm our communities,' commander Brett James said in the release. The teen was denied bail and is scheduled to appear in court on June 11, police said. Sydney is in southeastern Australia.
The Independent
16-04-2025
- The Independent
Teenage boy accused of trying to hire hitmen online in Nordic ‘cash for killing' operation
A 15-year-old boy accused of trying to recruit contract killers online in a Nordic gang war faces life in prison after being arrested in a multinational police sting. The teen was arrested at a home in Western Sydney on Wednesday morning and charged with using an encrypted app to facilitate a 'cash for killing' plan on behalf of an international crime syndicate, according to police from Australia, Denmark and Sweden. Australian police launched an investigation earlier this month after they were alerted by Danish police to a foreign national living in Australia, whom they had linked to attempts at organising contract killings in Europe. The so-called 'crime-as-a-service' contract killings involve individuals outsourcing crimes to third parties, using online platforms including social media to plan and carry out the attacks, police said. Lars Feldt-Rasmussen, deputy chief superintendent of the Danish police national special crime unit (NSK), said the arrest was a result of close cooperation between the three police forces. '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,' he said. In a separate statement, Danish police said the boy was originally from Sweden. The teenager was charged with two counts of using a device connected to a telecommunications network with the intent of committing a serious offence, namely conspiracy to murder - one count under the Australian Commonwealth criminal code and one under the Danish penal code. Both charges are punishable by life in prison. Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commander Brett James said that while criminals thought encrypted communications gave them anonymity and would help them dodge the law, the police were 'a step ahead'. 'If you think you can use geography to evade law enforcement, you're mistaken – the AFP and its partners are always watching, sharing intelligence and ready to apprehend those who wish to harm our communities,' he said. Deputy chief superintendent Feldt-Rasmussen said the investigation was continuing. 'With this operation, we have taken a recruitment link in the crime chain out of play, but we are not finished yet,' he said in translated comments from social media. 'We are also targeting those we suspect of having controlled the 15-year-old. Together with our international partners, we are hunting those who commit crimes against Denmark and the Nordic region - including those hiding abroad." The teen appeared in a Sydney children's court on Wednesday and was formally refused bail. He is due to reappear in court on June 11.
