Police identify over 70 youths responding to gang recruitment ads online

Sweden’s police have uncovered that upwards of 70 children and teenagers have responded to recruitment posts posted by criminal gangs on internet platforms, proposing low-level fraud assignments such as purchasing prepaid telephone cards or providing access to personal bank accounts. The National Operational Unit (Noa) compiled the names and forwarded the information to police districts across the country, which will reach out to the youths and their parents.

Johan Olsson, head of Noa, cautioned that participants can be charged even for seemingly minor offences and that these tasks often act as an entry point to more serious criminal activity, including violent crimes. Authorities stress the danger of normalising such illicit work among minors. The police urge vigilance as gangs increasingly use social media and chat groups to lure young people into illegal schemes.