16-year-old Swedish contract killer sent to Copenhagen

A 16-year-old Swedish boy arrived in Copenhagen in 2023 with a single purpose: to kill a person for money. The case quickly drew attention in both Denmark and Sweden, exposing a deeply disturbing trend in organised crime — the deliberate recruitment of minors to carry out the most serious offences.

Background: A network using children as weapons

Investigators established early on that the 16-year-old had not acted on his own initiative. He had been recruited by an established criminal network with roots in Sweden, likely connected to the gang environments that have shaped Malmö and Stockholm in particular over many years. The network had deliberately chosen a minor for the task — partly because young people below the age of criminal responsibility are harder to prosecute effectively, and partly because they are often easier to manipulate, threaten or lure with money.

According to information in the case, the boy had been promised a cash sum to carry out the killing. He travelled from Sweden to Denmark, most likely by train or bus, and had received instructions about his target. Police got wind of the plan before it could be fully executed, and the young Swede was arrested on Danish soil.

The arrest and the legal maze

The arrest of a 16-year-old foreign national charged with contract killing immediately created a complex legal situation. In Denmark the age of criminal responsibility is 15, meaning the boy could formally be prosecuted. The case nonetheless raised a series of questions: should he be sentenced in Denmark or extradited to Sweden? Who bore the real responsibility — the juvenile perpetrator or the masterminds behind him?

At the same time, the case pushed for intensified investigative cooperation between Copenhagen Police and Swedish authorities, including the Nationella operativa avdelningen (NOA). Danish-Swedish police cooperation became a central focus in the effort to map the entire network's structure and identify the adult organisers.