Criminal networks recruit vulnerable youths as frontline operatives through social platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, and Telegram, keeping participants at arm's length from one another.

What began with narcotrafficking has expanded across the territory to a wider range of crimes, with recruits taking on roles that go beyond lookouts and couriers to more violent tasks.

The online recruitment strategy enables faster, broader sourcing and allows operatives to be placed far from the crime scene.

Miladeca warned in mid-2025 that minors recruited online are increasingly involved in violent and normalized criminal acts.

Recruits are often inexperienced and can be pulled into escalating violence, including crypto-related seizures and kidnappings.

The model relies on compartmentalization or “pockets” of operatives who never meet, receiving instructions under pseudonyms to minimize traceability.

A Paris-based defense attorney describes this as an extreme “uberization” of criminal networks, with youths recruited online.