Teenage hitman from Norway locked up for plotting UK murder for Iran-backed gang
Johannes Natland (Metropolitan Police/PA) PA Media Emily Pennink 4 minutes ago A teenage hitman from Norway has been locked up for 20 years for plotting a murder on British soil for an Iran-backed international crime gang for a “thrill”.
Talented footballer Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, agreed to shoot an unknown target for 25,000 euros (£21,500) in March last year.
Two days after he arrived in the UK on a flight from his home in Stavanger, armed police arrested him at a hotel in Huddersfield , West Yorkshire , and seized two guns and 12 live bullets.
Natland admitted possessing the firearms and ammunition but claimed he would have shot himself in the foot to get out of the “pickle” he was in.
Johannes Natland, 19, pretending to shoot an armed officer during his arrest on March 19 2025 (Counter Terrorism Policing/PA) PA Media He was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to 20 years detention on Friday.
In a televised sentencing at Woolwich Crown Court, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: “At the heart of this case is the stark fact you agreed to assassinate another human being, a stranger to you, in a foreign country.
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“You were just 18 years old when you placed yourself in readiness to murder for money.
“The commission was for the Foxtrot Network and arranged online through social media platforms.
“The idea of being involved in such an endeavour thrilled your immature personality, which was no longer tethered to the strong family network you grew up in.”
The judge added: “Although the fact that no one was shot dead or physically harmed is important, I am sure had the intervention of the police not prevented the plan from proceeding, you would have done what you had agreed to.”
She said messages he sent showed “not only participation but at points excitement” about what he was planning to do.
The defendant’s mother blew him a kiss from the public gallery at the end of the hearing.
The court heard that Natland was recruited by another teenager referred to as “Generalen” who was working for the proscribed Swedish Foxtrot gang.
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