Swedish crime syndicate leaders are reportedly enlisting young individuals as expendable contract killers to carry out targeted hits in a popular vacation destination frequented by British tourists.
These contract killers, known as “baby hitmen,” are allegedly being recruited from various areas in Costa Del Sol, a coastal region in Spain that includes Marbella, Malaga, Fuengirola, and sunny Puerto Banus. The syndicate bosses are targeting teenagers, local drug users, and other vulnerable individuals whom they can easily manipulate to execute their orders in exchange for small payments.
According to law enforcement officials, these killers are carrying out assignments for sums ranging from “€4,000 (£3,523) to €5,000 (£4,404)” after being brought in from Nordic countries, some of whom are barely of legal driving age.
Reports from The Olive Press indicate that Spanish police have stated the contract killers are coerced into performing criminal tasks, including homicides, after falling into debt with the criminal organizations. Subsequently, they are transported to Costa del Sol and other European locations to repay their debts.
The illicit operations are conducted after the individuals are transported from Sweden or the Netherlands, with some of them apprehended during their journeys. Authorities have arrested three individuals in Costa del Sol for criminal activities – two of whom had intentions to commit murders, and a third who carried out a killing on orders from Belgium.
Investigators are now aiming to dismantle the criminal hierarchy, although the masterminds are believed to be based in northern Europe. A police spokesperson informed The Olive Press that “the criminal entities are actually located in other countries. The leaders operate from Sweden and dispatch hitmen for assassinations, causing ripple effects in our region.”
Udyco, the Unidad de Delincuencia contra el Crimen Organizado, is collaborating with European agencies to trace the origins of the orders for these “baby soldiers,” with efforts also underway in Sweden and Denmark to crack down on these criminal groups. The National Special Crime Unit in Denmark and the Swedish Police have joined the Operational Taskforce (OTF) GRIMM, overseen by Europol, resulting in the arrest of “several” individuals suspected of recruiting others for contract killings.
Earlier this year, Europol announced the apprehension of seven individuals aged between 14 and 26 in connection with attempted murders orchestrated through encrypted platforms. Two 18-year-old men, arrested in Sweden, were accused of actively engaging in the recruitment of young individuals for targeted killings in Denmark and Sweden.
Describing this as a “growing trend” in Europe, Europol labeled it “violence-as-a-service.” Andy Kraag, the head of Europol’s European Serious Organised Crime Centre, condemned this as a “premeditated outsourcing of murder.”
He expressed, “Paying teenagers to carry out assassinations is the face of organized crime in 2025. This is not typical street crime but a systematic delegation of murder by criminal networks treating human lives as expendable resources. Through Europol’s OTF GRIMM, law enforcement is pursuing the orchestrators and dismantling the infrastructure they utilize. There is no sanctuary, either online or offline, for those profiting from violence.”