MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish police have busted a gang based in the eastern city of Alicante that allegedly recruited Swedish and Danish teenagers to carry out murders as hitmen.

Police said Wednesday they have arrested a married Swedish couple and their 15-year-old son who recruited other teenagers through the Telegram messaging app to commit murder and are also accused of arms and drug trafficking and money laundering of money.

The gang was disbanded before any crime was committed, a police spokesman said.

In early November, Swedish prosecutors detained in absentia one of the three – their identity is withheld – on suspicion of attempted murder, preparation for murder and weapons offenses in Sweden, Denmark and Spain.

The alleged crimes took place in the spring and summer of 2024, prosecutors said.

Sweden has faced a rise in organized crime that is spreading across Europe. In August, Denmark called on Sweden to do more to stop cross-border gang violence and end armed Swedish teenagers acting as “child soldiers”.

The 15-year-old son played a key role in recruiting and paying the other teenagers, police said.

The investigation began in May after police detained a Swedish teenager in Benalmadena, a town near Malaga, who was recruited by the gang to kill a member of a rival biker gang, police said.

The teenager was sent an assault rifle and an escape plan involving an electric scooter, but was arrested before he could commit the crime.

As part of a coordinated operation, Danish police also arrested two Swedish teenagers in May who traveled to Denmark with the intent to kill, Spanish police said.

Police said their investigation also revealed a major criminal network between Sweden and Eastern European countries.

(Reporting by Javi West Larrañaga, additional reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Inti Landauro and Christina Fincher)