Norwegian teen sentenced to 20 years for plotting UK murder tied to Iran-linked gang

LONDON — A Norwegian teenager convicted of traveling to Britain to carry out a contract killing on behalf of an international crime gang linked to Iran was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison.

Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, was found guilty in July of conspiracy to murder for agreeing to shoot an unknown target for 25,000 euros ($28,100) last year. He was arrested at a hotel in Huddersfield in northern England with two guns and ammunition two days after arriving in the UK.

The target is not known.

Natland, who was working part-time at a pizza restaurant at the time of his arrest, was recruited by a Swedish organized crime group known as the Foxtrot Network while he was playing a game online. The group has links to the Iranian government, according to counterterrorism officers from London’s Metropolitan Police.

Natland admitted possessing the firearms and ammunition but claimed he did not want to go through with the plan.

“You agreed to be the enforcer and pursued it, despite numerous opportunities to extricate yourself,” Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said at his sentencing hearing at Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London.

“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.

Natland was hired by a 17-year-old known as “Generalen.” A court in Norway last year convicted the teenager of attempting to “contribute to murder” and sentenced him to 14 years in custody. A 16-year-old is awaiting trial in Norway for his role in the conspiracy.

The gang is backed by the Iranian regime and is known for deploying children as young as 13 in drug smuggling and violent crimes.

Natland was controlled by an English-speaking boss called Agent 47, in an apparent reference to the Hitman gaming and film franchise.

Under Agent 47’s close direction, Natland took a flight from Stavanger to Manchester Airport on a temporary passport on March 17 last year.

He was stopped by Border Force officials in Manchester, who temporarily released him to return to the airport to catch the next direct flight home.

Instead, he took a taxi to Huddersfield where he picked up £2,000 ($2,670) in cash, two guns and bullets and was directed to a stolen Nissan with false plates to be used in the killing.

From his room at the Briar Court Hotel, Natland bragged to his girlfriend that he had the “bangs in the bag” and took selfies with the guns and cash spread on his bed.

At 5:15 a.m. (0415 GMT) the next day, armed police banged on the teenager’s hotel room door to arrest him.

A smiling Natland emerged wearing only a pair of boxer shorts and pretended to shoot one of the officers with his empty hands.

In a search of his room, police seized a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, 12 rounds of live ammunition, gloves and £2,000 in cash.

At his trial, one of Natland’s footballer friends recalled him talking about the “Swedish Foxes” and telling him: “I’m going to get a lot of money and somebody is going to die.”

Natland had also confided to his girlfriend before leaving for the UK, saying in a message: “I’m going on a crazy mission.”

According to her, he said: “Now I can finally kill someone, and it’s perfect as I get money to do it. I can kill someone and life will be wonderful.”

Giving evidence, Natland said he wanted to look “cool” to his peers, but it was just “bravado” and inside he was “terrified.”

He told jurors: “I wasn’t an international assassin. I thought people had this impression and expected me to be this guy. I knew I wasn’t.”

Despite having supportive parents, his life went downhill after he became addicted to drugs and he was placed in rehab and a care home, he said.

Natland’s recruiter “Generalen” was convicted in Norway of attempting to “contribute to murder” in May last year.

Defense attorney Paul Hynes highlighted Natland’s young age at the time of the offense, and said he had been “a young, popular, successful student and sportsman” before he went “off the rails” after he started abusing drugs.

He said his client has changed and is no longer the same young man who received a message asking: “Is anyone up for murder for money?”

Hynes argued Natland did not present a danger in the future, saying: “This whole experience can only be a chastening, humbling and frightening one. He has, in any view, learned his lesson.”

Three more people have been charged by Norwegian police, with a decision yet to be taken by prosecutors on whether to “indict” them.

In September 2025, a 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and has been released under investigation.

Two men, aged 30 and 27, were arrested in Bradford on May 20 on suspicion of handling stolen goods relating to a car. They were released on bail.

Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London, credited the “exceptional work” of British police working with Norwegian counterparts for Natland’s arrest hours before he was due to carry out an assassination.

“Natland was clearly being tasked by someone in the Foxtrot Network, an organized criminal group sanctioned by the UK and the US due to its involvement in orchestrating violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.

“The intended target of this specific assassination has never been identified, and we found no evidence of any direct link to Iran in this case.

“However, as recent events have shown, CTP will seek to proactively disrupt any attempts by hostile states to carry out criminal acts in the UK.”

The UK government last year announced sanctions against Foxtrot Network and its leader “due to their involvement in violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.”

The sanctions include an asset freeze that bars UK businesses from handling funds or other economic assets controlled by the organization.