Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder by an Old Bailey jury after a retrial. The teenage footballer from Norway had travelled to England in March last year with the intention of shooting an unknown target for 25,000 euro (£21,500) on behalf of a Swedish organised crime group backed by the Iranian regime.
The plot
Natland was recruited by a 17-year-old known as "Generalen", who was working for the proscribed Foxtrot gang. Generalen had already been convicted in Norway of attempting to "contribute to murder". Natland took over after another recruit backed out. His handler was an English-speaking boss called "Agent 47", a reference to the Hitman franchise.
Two days after arriving in the UK on a flight from Stavanger, armed police arrested him at a hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They seized two guns and 12 rounds of live ammunition. In his room, police also found £2,000 in cash, gloves, and a stolen Nissan with false plates intended for the killing.
Bravado and lies
Natland admitted possessing the firearms but claimed he intended to shoot himself in the foot to escape the "pickle" he was in. Jurors heard he lied repeatedly after his arrest and tried to persuade his girlfriend not to give evidence. In messages to his girlfriend, 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." He also told her: "It will be a bit cool to kill someone. If I don’t get caught we have to celebrate."
One of his footballer friends recalled Natland bragging: "I’m going to get a lot of money and somebody is going to die." In evidence, Natland said he wanted to look "cool" but it was just "bravado" and he was "terrified" inside. He said: "I wasn’t an international assassin."
The arrest and aftermath
Natland arrived in the UK on a temporary passport on March 17 last year. Border Force officials stopped him in Manchester but bailed him to catch the next flight home. Instead, he went to Huddersfield, collected the cash and weapons, and settled into the Briar Court Hotel. On the eve of the planned shooting, Agent 47 messaged him: "We have much to do tomorrow."
At 5.15am the next day, armed police banged on his hotel door. Natland emerged smiling, wearing only boxer shorts, and pretended to shoot an officer with his empty hands. A search of the room recovered a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, 12 rounds of live ammunition, gloves, and £2,000 in cash.
The prosecution's view
Prosecutor Alistair Richardson told the jury: "The reality is the defendant is a troubled but dangerous young man. A young man who agreed to kill in a foreign country for money." The true identity and whereabouts of Agent 47 remain unknown.
