Increasingly common tactic; states using criminal gangs as an extension of foreign policy. Russia recruited British and East European criminals to carry out acts of sabotage (arson) in Britain. A Norwegian teenager has been arrested in the UK plotting an assassination of targets unknown. https://news.sky.com/story/norwegian-teen-accused-of-flying-to-uk-on-crazy-hitman-job-for-gang-used-by-iran-13550337 Johannes Natland, a solid Nordic name, was hired or coerced by a Swedish Kurdish drug gang, the Foxtrot Network, who's head operates out of Turkey, and who does jobs for Iran from time to time. And before https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c308p0rjq9zo In the West, Western agencies would use terms like "plausible deniability". The CIA recruited mafia and Cuban mobsters: https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence/2025-11-20/cia-assassination-plots-church-committee-report-50-years And don't forget Lucky Luciano; his role in the liberation of Sicily is part of lore, but he was a criminal and murderer, and apparently it was ok to use him. Indian Intelligence coordinates with Canadian gangsters in targeted assassinations: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj07vzm9n11o In Northern Ireland, British forces had, at times, some pretty dodgy links to paramilitaries. I think using proxies is pretty par for the course.
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