A 19-year-old Norwegian has been jailed for 20 years for agreeing to assassinate a stranger in the UK for an Iran-backed crime gang. Johannes Kongsnes Natland travelled from his native Norway to the UK after agreeing to murder someone for 25,000 euros (£21,500) in March last year.
Just two days after his arrival in the UK, armed police swarmed his hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, where he was arrested. He was found with two guns and 12 live bullets which the force seized.
Sentencing and judge's remarks
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. 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. You knew nothing about the person’s life or circumstances.
“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.
Recruitment and journey to the UK
The court heard that Natland was recruited by another teenager referred to as “Generalen” who was working for the proscribed Swedish Foxtrot gang. 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 bailed 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 in cash, two guns and bullets and was directed to a stolen Nissan with false plates to be used in the killing.
Arrest and evidence
From his room at the Briar Court Hotel, Natland bragged to his girlfriend he had the “bangs in the bag” and took selfies with the guns and cash spread on his bed. At 5.15am 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 in his girlfriend before leaving for the UK, saying in a message: “I’m going on 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.”
Defence and further arrests
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, a 17-year-old youth known as “Generalen”, was convicted in Norway of attempting to “contribute to murder” in May last year. Paul Hynes KC, defending, highlighted Natland’s young age at the time of the offending, 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?” Mr 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 on any view learned his lesson.”
Three more people have been charged by Norwegian police, with a decision yet to be taken by prosecutors 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. The identity and whereabouts of Agent 47 remains unknown.
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. She said: “Natland was clearly being tasked by someone in the Foxtrot Network, an organised 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.”
