Stockholm, December 18, 2025 (Agencies) – Swedish authorities are grappling with a disturbing new trend in organized crime: gangs recruiting children as young as 14 to carry out grenade attacks, exploiting legal loopholes that shield minors from prosecution.
Police in Gothenburg confirmed that three teenage girls — aged 14, 16, and 17 — were paid 45,000 kronor ($4,800) each to throw hand grenades at residential buildings. One device exploded outside an apartment, while two failed to detonate. Investigators traced DNA on the unexploded grenades, leading to the girls’ arrest.
The youngest, who organized the attack after being recruited online by a Foxtrot gang member known as “SuperMario”, cannot be prosecuted under Swedish law. She faces only an evidentiary hearing. The two older girls are now on trial.
Officials warn this case is part of a wider pattern. Last year, 280 girls aged 15–17 were charged with violent crimes, including murder and manslaughter. Children as young as 11 are being recruited for contract killings, with gangs offering 50,000 kronor for grenade attacks and up to 800,000 kronor for targeted murders.
Sweden now has the highest per capita gun violence rate in the EU, with hand grenade attacks occurring almost daily. Surplus munitions from the Yugoslav Wars are being smuggled into the country, fueling the violence. Three major networks — Foxtrot, Dalen, and Rumba — are believed to control nearly half of all gang-related deaths and injuries.
Gang leaders operate abroad, beyond the reach of Swedish law. Rawa “Kurdish Fox” Majid runs Foxtrot from Turkey, while Mikael “The Greek” Tenezos directs Dalen from Mexico. Intelligence sources allege Majid has ties to Iranian operatives targeting Israeli interests in Stockholm.
The Swedish government has announced plans to build special youth prisons for 13- and 14-year-olds and lower the age of criminal responsibility, acknowledging that gangs are exploiting children as “disposable soldiers.”
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson admitted earlier this year that Sweden has “lost control over organized-crime violence,” as the country now records nine times more deadly shootings than Norway, Denmark, and Finland combined.
The Gothenburg case underscores the growing crisis: three teenage girls were paid to throw grenades at homes, and the youngest — shielded by law — walked free. Meanwhile, gang recruiters abroad continue to target Sweden’s children through encrypted apps.