SYDNEY, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Australian authorities have arrested and charged a teenage foreign national for allegedly facilitating contract killings in Europe.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said that the 15-year-old was arrested on Wednesday after officers executed a search warrant in western Sydney.

In a joint statement with Danish Police and the Swedish Police Authority, the AFP said that the teenager is accused of using an encrypted application to facilitate plans for contract killings in Denmark and Sweden on behalf of a transnational crime syndicate.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that the 15-year-old is a Swedish national.

He has been charged with one count of using a telecommunications device to commit conspiracy to murder and one count of using a telecommunications device to commit murder.

The AFP said that it commenced an investigation earlier in April after receiving information from Danish Police about a foreign national living in Australia allegedly linked to attempts to organize crimes-as-a-service contract killings in Europe.

During Wednesday's search, AFP officers seized electronic devices that will be subject to forensic examination.

"The AFP regularly works with foreign policing partners, such as the Danish Police, and the identification of these alleged international criminal links is a testament to the enduring partnership and collaboration between our agencies," AFP Commander Brett James said.

The 15-year-old appeared before a Sydney children's court on Wednesday where he was formally refused bail. He is scheduled to appear before the same court on June 11. Enditem

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