Norway Charges Foxtrot ‘Joker’ Over Grenade Attack Near Oslo

A 21-year-old man alleged to be an enforcer for the Foxtrot criminal network has been charged in Norway with orchestrating a grenade attack on a sushi restaurant near Oslo, The National reported on Wednesday (Oct 28). The suspect, Ali Namdar, is said to use the alias “Joker”.

Foxtrot grenade attack charge

The attack targeted a restaurant in Strommen, a town about 20km east of the Norwegian capital, on Oct 22 last year, according to the report.

Police prosecutor Anja Stenersen told Norwegian broadcaster TV 2 that investigators regard Namdar as the person behind the attack. “We believe he was the mastermind and the one who ordered this attack,” she said.

When he was arrested, Stenersen said Namdar was also accused of a separate grenade attack, a shooting at a house and an abduction.

Teenager recruited on Signal

The grenade was thrown by a boy who was 15 at the time. Now 16, he appeared in court and pleaded guilty to throwing the device, while denying any involvement with organised crime.

The court heard that a Signal user named Joker contacted the teenager in a chat group and persuaded him to carry out the attack, including by assuring him that the blast would not be large. Investigators concluded that the account belonged to Namdar after linking him to several similar cases.

Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service is examining whether Namdar trafficked children and young people to carry out attacks, the report said.

Awaiting extradition from Morocco

Namdar was arrested in Morocco at Sweden’s request after being placed on a list of Europe’s most-wanted suspects, and is awaiting extradition. In Sweden, he faces 18 alleged offences, including orchestrating the attempted murder of Iranian dissident Arvin Khoshnood.

The National reported that Foxtrot was founded and is led by Kurdish-born gangster Rawa Majid. The network and Majid have been placed under sanctions by the United States and Britain over attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets carried out on behalf of Iran, using teenagers recruited on social media, according to the report.

No trial date for Namdar has been reported.

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