A Sweden-led police operation has led to the arrest or detention of 280 people across Europe in a coordinated effort against the digital recruitment and coordination of serious violent crime. The operation, known as Operational Taskforce Grimm, is run with Europol and involves ten European countries, targeting a model police describe as “violence-as-a-service”.
Swedish gangs are central to the European police operation
Swedish police said nearly half of the arrests or detentions made during the first year of the operation are linked to criminal environments in Sweden. Around 120 to 130 people are suspected of having committed offences in Sweden, according to SVT.
The figures underline how Sweden’s gang conflict has become a European policing issue. Criminal networks linked to Sweden have increasingly used digital platforms to recruit, instruct and coordinate people for violent acts, including shootings and explosions. The model allows senior figures to remain at a distance while younger people are drawn into carrying out high-risk crimes.
Operational Taskforce Grimm began in April 2025 and is led by Sweden in cooperation with Europol. In addition to Sweden, the taskforce includes representatives from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.
Violence-as-a-service is drawing children into serious crime
One of the most serious findings reported by Swedish media is the age of some of those taken into custody. According to SVT, the youngest people detained include a handful of children aged between 10 and 12.
Theodor Smedius, police superintendent at the Swedish Police Authority’s National Operations Department (Nationella operativa avdelningen, Noa), described the spread of recruitment into younger age groups as “horrifying and unacceptable”.
“It is a ruthless structure where serious criminals exploit children and young adults. It is part of the business model itself. The whole setup is built on attracting young people,” Smedius said.
Swedish police have warned for several years that criminal networks are using minors because they are easier to influence, often face different legal consequences, and can be approached through encrypted chats, social media and gaming-related communication channels. The Grimm operation suggests that this method is no longer only a domestic Swedish concern, but part of a broader European pattern.
Europol lists Swedish suspects among high-priority targets
During the first six months of the operation, 193 people were arrested in several countries. After one year, the number has increased to 280. Six so-called high-priority individuals have also been arrested, although their nationalities have not been publicly specified.
SVT reports that Europol has identified two wanted Swedish men as high-priority individuals within the Grimm framework. One is Mohamed “Moewgli” Mohdhi, described by SVT as the second-in-command in the Foxtrot network. The other is reported to be a key figure around Foxtrot leader Rawa Majid.
The Foxtrot network has been central to Sweden’s recent wave of gang-related violence. Its internal conflicts and international connections have pushed Swedish authorities to work more closely with police agencies in other European countries.
Police want stronger cooperation from tech companies
Swedish police have identified around 14,000 accounts linked to the digital recruitment and coordination of violent crimes. Authorities are now calling for closer cooperation with technology companies to disrupt recruitment before it leads to attacks.
Smedius said police have held several meetings with major technology companies over the past year, but argued that platforms need to do more to detect and remove criminal recruitment networks.
“We believe there is much more they can do. They must develop a capacity for self-cleaning,” he said.
The appeal reflects a wider European debate over the responsibility of digital platforms in preventing crime, particularly when encrypted communication, anonymous accounts and cross-border networks make traditional policing slower and more complex.
A Nordic security problem with a European dimension
The Grimm operation shows how Sweden’s struggle with gang recruitment has moved beyond national borders. Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway are all part of the taskforce, making the operation a wider Nordic response as well as a European one.
For Sweden, the arrests are a significant policing result, but they also point to a structural problem. Criminal networks are adapting quickly to digital spaces, using young people as disposable intermediaries and operating across borders. The next phase will depend not only on police cooperation, but also on whether technology companies and European governments can close the online channels used to recruit children and coordinate violence.
