French gangsters ordering hits on ‘UberKills’ service – Le Monde

Police have linked a recent contract killing to an encrypted Telegram-based service, the outlet has reported

French gangsters are using a Telegram-based service dubbed ‘UberKills’ to order assassinations, Le Monde has reported. According to the newspaper, clients communicate via the app with a service manager who passes target information and weapons to the assassin.  

The killing of a 19-year-old man in eastern France in April has been linked to the network, Le Monde reported on Friday. The victim, Abdel-Hakim B., was shot three times in the head, and the attack was broadcast on the Snapchat social media app before emergency services arrived.

The victim and the suspected killer were both allegedly recruited via Telegram to work in local drug operations, according to Le Monde. Abdel-Hakim B., a computer science student with no criminal background, had reportedly answered an online job ad the day before the killing, offering €220 ($260) per day to supervise a drug-dealing point.

Surveillance footage and digital data allowed police to identify the suspected gunman, 18-year-old Mohamed G., within eight days. He had traveled by high-speed train from Paris to Lyon and arrived at the crime scene by taxi.

Mohamed G. was arrested at his parents’ home, where police found the clothing he wore during the killing. A woman who allegedly helped organize his travel and logistics was also arrested and charged, but denies knowing she was assisting in a murder. Authorities say she was paid €700, while the full fee for the killing was €2,500.

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A senior police officer in Lyon said that over the past three to four years, authorities had observed a rise in the use of apps and online networks in criminal activity. The trend, he noted, reflects what he described as the “Uberization of crime.”

Earlier this month Telegram founder Pavel Durov, who is under investigation in France, accused Le Monde of waging a smear campaign against his messaging platform, saying it had published 40 negative articles about Telegram in the seven weeks following his arrest at a Paris airport in August 2024.

Durov was detained on charges of complicity in crimes allegedly committed by Telegram users, including extremism and child abuse. He was later released on bail.

The Russian-born entrepreneur said that in most cases Le Monde did not request a comment from the company or ignored corrections provided by the platform. He claimed the newspaper was attempting to build a negative narrative about Telegram and described the charges against him as “absurd.”

Telegram said in a statement that it complies with EU laws and described it as absurd that the platform or its founder should be held accountable for user abuse.