Eleanor Stubbs, CNN

As darkness enveloped Stockholm one evening last May, the city set into its nocturnal rhythm and its criminal underworld came alive.

In a home in Västerås, a lakeside city 60 miles west of the capital, a mother completed her nighttime routine, comforted by the sight of her 15-year-old son safely in bed. But, just before midnight, the teenager silently rose and slipped out.

A job awaited him, one he believed would be over before daybreak, well ahead of his national math examination.

Outside, an Uber arrived. Someone else had arranged the transportation for him, court and police documents show. The documents, which include texts he exchanged, detail his journey.

The following messages have been edited for clarity and length.

Shortly after starting the final leg of his journey, blue lights flashed, police swarmed, and he was arrested.

But, just over 24 hours later, another boy, 14, made it.

A 9mm semi-automatic pistol in hand, he fired several shots near the embassy at 2 a.m. before being detained.

The 14-year-old was not prosecuted because he was under-age, while the 15-year-old was convicted of a serious weapons offense and ordered to spend 11 months in a juvenile care home.

Police say the attempted attacks were among several last year targeting the Israeli embassy in Stockholm. Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) sources have told CNN they were carried out by gangs acting on behalf of Iran, making an existing crisis even more dangerous.

Sweden has been battling a wave of gang violence that has increasingly involved children and teenagers. According to interviews for this investigation with over two dozen sources, including former gang members, several social workers, prosecutors, lawyers, criminologists and members of the security services, gangs are recruiting children who are too young to be jailed to carry out violent jobs. Social media is a key tool in their exploitation, the sources said, with gangsters coaching them online to commit crimes, ranging from vandalism to bombings and contract murder.

Last year, SÄPO warned that Iran was using the country’s criminal networks to do its bidding in an expansion of its regional conflict with Israel but offered few further details. Iran’s embassy in Stockholm rejected the claims at the time as “fake and propagandistic” information pushed by Israel.

CNN spoke with multiple Swedish police and security sources about the alleged foreign activity for this investigation. Not all would comment on the record, but those that did said that the Iranian government has been working with local gangs to plot political attacks on Israeli and Jewish interests. In many cases, they said, children were involved.

Iranian authorities declined to comment on CNN's investigation.

A source in SÄPO told CNN two rival Swedish gangs, known as Foxtrot and Rumba, plotted several attacks targeting the Israeli embassy in Stockholm at Iran’s behest last year. They included an attempted attack involving an explosive device on January 31, the foiled attempt on May 16 and the shooting on May 17, as well as what a Swedish prosecutor described as an incident involving gunfire on October 1.

The prosecutor handling the October shooting said that the suspect was identified in connection with explosions near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen, in neighboring Denmark, a day later. That case is still ongoing.

Most of the attacks reviewed by CNN involved suspects under the age of 18 who are treated differently to adults in the Swedish criminal justice system, with a focus on remediation and a higher chance of prosecution being waived. According to court records, they appeared to have little idea who was directing their movements.

“It becomes a problem for us when it's another state like Iran that uses these kids as a proxy,” Fredrik Hallström, head of operations at SÄPO, told CNN, describing the practice as murder-for-hire or crimes-for-service. “Organized crime in Sweden right now is a huge vulnerability that is being used by state actors.”

“After the 7th of October, we saw this type of modus operandi,” he added, referring to the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in 2023 that triggered the war in Gaza. Hamas is backed by Iran.

Iran and Israel have been engaged in a “shadow war” for years, deploying spies, paid assassins, criminal networks, cyber-activity and other covert means to strike each other, primarily in the Middle East. But, in recent years, the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom have warned of an uptick in Iranian state threats in the West, with plots carried out by proxies targeting dissidents and journalists, as well as Israelis and Jews.

CNN found recent examples of planned attacks on Israeli and Jewish sites in Europe where criminal networks linked to Iran allegedly exerted pressure on local people to carry out the crimes, according to court documents. Among the targets: a synagogue and Jewish memorial center in Germany, and a Jewish restaurant and prayer center in Greece.

The perpetrator of one of the incidents in Germany had no prior criminal record and the court found he had been pressured to act. While in Greece, one of the accused, an undocumented migrant from Pakistan, showed the court evidence of being coerced. Iran denied being behind the incidents.

Together, the cases hint at the use of vulnerable proxies to carry out operations in Europe. Now, security sources say, Iran is enlisting unsuspecting children.

Magnus Ranstorp, a counterterrorism expert at the Swedish Defence University, said that though the operations are not very sophisticated, given the alleged perpetrators are young and inexperienced, they are very serious.

"They are just the tool,” he said, speaking about the young people. “They're really sort of pressed to do this.”

A national disaster

Sweden, known for having one of the world’s most generous social safety nets, and a strong culture of looking after vulnerable people, has become synonymous in recent years with violent crime in Europe. It now has one of the highest gun crime rates on the continent, according to a study by the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå).

Fears about the crisis have come to dominate the political landscape in Sweden, playing a role in the right-leaning coalition coming to power in 2022 on a promise to be tough on crime. The government has tightened immigration policies, enforced harsher sentences for gun crime and broadened police surveillance powers. The measures, critics say, have ignored the underlying issues driving gang warfare, like widening economic inequality and social segregation.

In January alone, there were 33 gang-related explosions in Sweden – the highest monthly figure ever recorded in the country, according to a 2025 Swedish police report. In 2024, 30% of suspects in firearm-related murders were under 18, compared to around 20% in recent years, the same report said.

Gun violence remained the most common cause of violent death in Sweden in 2024, but the country’s homicide and manslaughter rate dropped amid an increase in surveillance, according to statistics released by Brå in March.

“It is a national disaster,” John Forsberg, superintendent of the Swedish National Police, told CNN, adding that kids are now crossing borders to carry out crimes making it a Europe-wide problem.

Gangs often entice children and teenagers with expensive items, initially assigning seemingly innocuous tasks that then escalate over time. “They are blinded by the hunt for money and status and materialistic things. They are obsessed with the thought of having cash to go and buy clothes with,” said Luay Mohageb, a former Swedish police interrogator who has worked on multiple cases involving children in gangs.

But other personal and socio-economic drivers are also at play. Factors include seeking belonging, status, and financial gain – especially when legitimate opportunities are scarce.

“You need to see the root of the problem,” Rene Lobos, a former gang member who now helps children get out of gangs, told CNN, adding that young people “are so insecure in who they are, they don't have role models when they grow up.” Being part of these gangs, he said, gives them a sense of community.

The mother of the 15-year-old who was arrested on his way to the Israeli embassy in Stockholm in May 2024 told authorities that she believed her son was being taken advantage of. She said that older people he spent time with, who might have been behind getting him the “job,” acted as his “big brothers,” protecting and supporting him – and making him feel safe.

Criminal networks strategically recruit teenagers, as they are not only easier to manipulate but are also given lighter sentences, according to security experts CNN spoke with. In Sweden, children under 15 cannot be held legally responsible for crimes, while those between 15 and 18 are typically referred to social welfare authorities rather than sentenced to prison.

Swedish prosecutor Lisa dos Santos told CNN that the use of minors enables more senior gang members to evade law enforcement. “They lack connection to both target and gang leader who wants the assignment done. It makes it harder to trace.”

Experts say Foxtrot, one of Sweden’s most feared gangs, has fueled the surge in violence playing out on Sweden’s streets, using teenagers to carry out crimes. The gang wars worsened in 2023 when Foxtrot’s leader, Rawa Majid, launched a feud with former ally, Ismail Abdo, who became leader of the rival gang known as Rumba.

Both men are wanted for multiple charges, including gross narcotics offenses, according to Interpol Red Notices for their arrest. Majid faces charges of instigating murder, and Abdo faces charges of instigating attempted murder.

The US Treasury Department recently sanctioned Foxtrot and its leader Majid, who it said was cooperating with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). It accused the gang of orchestrating attacks on Israelis and Jews in Europe on behalf of Iran, including the January 2024 attempted attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, adding that the group “routinely uses teenagers.”

Announcing the sanctions in early March, the Treasury said that the Iranian regime had increasingly used criminal networks as proxies. “Iran’s brazen use of transnational criminal organizations and narcotics traffickers underscores the regime’s attempts to achieve its aims through any means, with no regard for the cost to communities across Europe,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

Majid left Sweden in April 2019 and has since been based in Sulaymaniyah, a Kurdish city in northern Iraq, according to Swedish police files related to an investigation into the gang leader. The files indicate he has continued to communicate with criminal associates and oversee operations via encrypted chats often using the alias “Foxkurdish” in reference to his nickname, the Kurdish Fox.

“Iran has a lot of influence in Iraqi Kurdistan,” Saeed Ghasseminejad, a senior advisor on Iran at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank, said, explaining why Iran might recruit Majid. Cooperation between the Iranian regime and Iraqi Kurds grew during the eight-year Iran-Iraq war that ended in 1988, he added.

Abdo’s whereabouts remain unclear but there were local reports in May 2024 of his arrest in Turkey’s southern Adana province and subsequent release on bail.

Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency alleged last year that both Majid and Abdo were working with Iran and blamed their gangs for attempted attacks on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, according to Israeli media reports.

CNN reached out to Mossad for more information about its claims and for comment on this report but has not received a response.

Gamification of gang warfare

The gangs are increasingly turning to online platforms to recruit youths, offering them money in exchange for targeted killings.

Dos Santos said criminal tasks are posted on a variety of public platforms, including Snapchat and Instagram. Those interested are often asked to message the person ordering the hit privately, she said. Then, they are included in private groups on encrypted platforms such as Signal and Zangi messenger.

Justice ministers from Sweden, Denmark, and other Nordic nations met with representatives from Meta, Google, TikTok and Snapchat in December to discuss how the platforms would stop gangs from using their services to recruit young people. The four companies have been collaborating under TechSverige (TechSweden) to establish a Nordic knowledge-sharing forum aimed at tackling the issue, though Snapchat told CNN it had not seen “clear signs of gang recruitment” on its platform.

Danish Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard said at the time that "more concrete action” must be taken to ensure digital platforms don’t facilitate violent crimes. He also criticized Signal and Telegram for failing to attend the meeting.

Meta, Google, TikTok, Snapchat and Telegram told CNN they monitor, identify and remove harmful content that violates their policies and the law using AI tools and human moderation. They also said they prohibit and combat incitement to crime, criminal activity and recruitment, working with law enforcement agencies to keep people – particularly children – safe.

CNN reached out to Zangi Messenger and Signal with queries but has not received responses.

Oscar Waldner, a doctoral student at Malmö University researching how criminal networks use social media and the internet, said that gangs are advertising illicit activities online in “a very explicit way” for large sums.

CNN analyzed public Telegram channels that Waldner linked to criminal networks. There, groups use seemingly innocuous symbols to order up attacks: A skull emoji signals murder, while a dollar emoji represents payment, according to Swedish prosecutors and academics CNN spoke with. Foxtrot is often referred to with a fox emoji, while Rumba uses a strawberry emoji, in reference to the strawberry business Abdo used to run, a Swedish police source said. The Telegram channels were removed in recent months.

A Telegram spokesperson told CNN that it had taken down criminal recruitment content in Sweden when it was discovered in August, and that moderators have continued to remove new attempts. The spokesperson added that the company abides by the EU’s content moderation law, the Digital Services Act, and provides channels for authorities to issue takedown requests.

The normalization of gang violence on social media creates a dangerous cycle where crime is glorified, criminologists, counter-terrorism experts and social workers told CNN, adding that often children are groomed online in real time.

“These kids are filming everything. They take pictures of themselves with that gun and send it to friends, you know, before the shooting or after the shooting and bragging about it because they know through these ads, (they) gain social status,” Mohageb said, referring to the online posts where gangs offer money for carrying out crimes.

Children’s exposure to violent content online is something that concerns European authorities more broadly.

“Groups of often very young individuals form online around narratives of violence, rather than ideologies,” said Anna Sjöberg, head of Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre.

“They exchange violent content and fantasies about how to act out violence and this vulnerability to violent narratives makes them a profitable recruitment pool for terrorist organizations or organized crime groups.”

‘I’ll leave him some cool clothes’

In his testimony, the 15-year-old from Västerås, who was arrested on his way to the Israeli embassy, said he initially thought the job last May was to move cannabis, and that he felt “cheated and angry” when he was told to pick up a weapon.

He claimed that only three days earlier, he had been asked if he would carry out a hit on the Israeli embassy and had refused because of its political nature, adding that he didn’t know where he was going that night until he was already in the Uber.

The brother of the 14-year-old detained for firing shots near the embassy a day later said he hadn’t thought his brother was "capable" of carrying out the alleged attack, according to a wiretap commissioned by the Swedish police following the incident and included in court documents. “I thought he would shoot once. Get scared and run away,” he is heard saying, adding that he was surprised that his brother emptied the whole magazine.

“So, they thought it was a terror attack, brother. He is labeled as a terrorist, man... It said in the news... like this shooting at Israel’s embassy,” he said on another call.

The phone calls suggest just how simple the rewards are for carrying out such serious crimes.

In one of the wiretapped conversations, the boy’s brother is heard telling an unknown caller that he received the money and hid it. “I pick up my part. (He) has his. Yes. When I visit him at SiS (Swedish National Board of Institutional Care), I leave him some really cool clothes and stuff. Stuff that he wants.”

On the brother’s phone, in deleted files, police found a photograph of two masked people posing with a large sum of money, holding thick stacks of 500 kroner (about $50) notes.

In another conversation, he reiterated his fears for his younger brother, and an unknown speaker tries to reassure him. “No, but automatically, it will be dismissed. But I mean, he can still be put to a rehabilitation centre or something like that... But he won’t get any marks on his records,” the person said.

Social workers CNN spoke to emphasized that children recruited into gangs should be seen as victims of a system that has failed to protect them, rather than criminals. Without strong intervention, they said, the children remain at risk of further exploitation, caught in a cycle of violence.

Directly after his arrest, sitting in the patrol car, the 15-year-old told one of the police officers that it was too late for him to get out of the gang.

“They’ll still find you no matter where you are,” he said, according to the police report, adding that the violence in Sweden would only get worse.