Teen in Sydney ‘facilitated murder plots’ for European gangsters (2025)

A Scandinavian teenager allegedly helped the European underworld organise murders while in Sydney after his family moved him to Australia in a bid to get him far from gang life.

The 15-year-old boy, who cannot be identified because of his age, was arrested in Sydney’s west on Wednesday morning less than a month after Danish police sent a warning that Australia was harbouring a person linked to their violent street gangs.

Denmark’s police, known as the NSK, earlier this month told the Australian Federal Police that the boy had arrived in Australia in late 2024.

The boy had been sent to Sydney after his family feared he was falling in with a gang which is battling to control the drug trade in Nordic countries.

But while in Australia, the boy allegedly used an encrypted messaging service to stay in touch with the gang and even tried to help them carry out violence.

“The 15-year-old is suspected of being part of an organised criminal network that, as part of the ongoing gang conflict in the Nordic countries, has attempted to recruit people to commit serious crimes against people in Denmark and Sweden, among others,” the NSK said in a statement.

The boy allegedly offered one potential hitman 200,000 Swedish kroner ($48,000) and a firearm to carry out one murder in Denmark.

AFP’s Operation Dedric swooped on Wednesday, seizing the boy’s electronic devices and hauling him before the Surry Hills Children’s Court.

The boy made no application for bail, and it was formally refused, ahead of his next appearance in the court in June on two counts of using telecommunications devices with intent to murder.

AFP Commander Brett James said criminals could not come to Australia and expect encrypted devices would keep them from capture.

“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.”

NSK Deputy Inspector Lars Feldt-Rasmussen said the investigation would turn to those higher up the criminal chain.

“We are also going after those we suspect of having controlled the 15-year-old,” the officer said.

“Together with our international partners, we are hunting down those who commit crimes targeting Denmark and the Nordic region – including those hiding abroad.”

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