A Swedish court has found a 15-year-old boy guilty of possessing a semi-automatic weapon while en route to the Israeli embassy in Stockholm. The conviction follows recent concerns raised by Sweden’s intelligence agency, which accused Iran of recruiting gang members to target Israeli interests in the country, according to Times of Israel.
The teenager was apprehended on May 16 when police stopped a taxi in Tyreso, a suburb south of Stockholm, while he was traveling to the Israeli embassy in the capital. Upon inspection, police found the gun concealed in the boy's jacket.
The following evening, a separate incident occurred involving a 14-year-old boy who was arrested after a shooting near the Israeli embassy. The investigation into that incident is still ongoing.
The 15-year-old, who has been sentenced to 11 months of juvenile supervision, testified in the Nacka district court that he was instructed to pick up an item in Tyreso for delivery. He claimed that he initially believed he was supposed to collect drugs and only discovered that he was retrieving a gun when he was already on his way.
He further explained that he learned the destination was the Israeli embassy only after entering the taxi, which had been ordered by a woman. The taxi driver corroborated this, stating that a woman had given the embassy address for the destination, although her identity remains unknown.
Despite the boy's claim that he felt deceived, he proceeded with the assignment. Prosecutors presented evidence from the boy’s smartphone, indicating that he had researched the route to the embassy beforehand. The court concluded that the boy was aware of the destination, even if he did not provide the address to the taxi driver directly.
The court noted that the discovery of the weapon on the way to the embassy suggested it could have been intended for criminal use. However, it also highlighted that there was no investigation into the specific plans for that night, leaving the exact intentions unclear. The police have not disclosed why the taxi was stopped in the first place.