Teenage Hitman Jailed for Plotting UK Assassination Linked to Iran-Backed Gang

A teenage Norwegian hitman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for plotting to assassinate a target in the United Kingdom on behalf of an Iran-backed gang. Johannes Natland, 18 at the time of his arrest, traveled from Stavanger, Norway, to the UK with the intention of carrying out the murder for approximately £21,000.

Natland was apprehended in a Huddersfield hotel room on March 19 of last year, mere hours before the planned assassination. Authorities discovered a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, and 12 rounds of ammunition in his possession, along with £2,000 in cash. He was convicted of conspiracy to murder following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey.

During sentencing, Mrs. Justice Cheema-Grubb stated that Natland was recruited in Norway to travel to England to kill an unidentified target. The judge emphasized that while no one was harmed due to police intervention, Natland would have proceeded with the plan had it not been stopped.

The court detailed that the murder plot was initiated by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group identified as being used by the Iranian regime. The UK had previously sanctioned Foxtrot in April of the preceding year for its involvement in violent activities against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe.

Natland became involved in the plot after receiving a message on Signal from a user named 'Unknown Hustler' regarding a murder in England. He was subsequently added to a group chat that included a Norwegian recruiter and a senior Foxtrot recruiter, Ali Shehab, a 22-year-old Swedish-Iraqi gangster known as 'Agent 47.' Shehab is reportedly an associate of Foxtrot leader Rawa Majid, who is alleged to have made a deal with Iran to target enemies abroad.

Under Shehab's direction, Natland flew from Stavanger to Manchester on March 17. He was questioned by Border Force officials and initially refused entry into the UK, but was instructed to return to the airport for a flight home four days later. This allowed him to enter the country, and he proceeded to a hotel in Manchester. The following day, recruiters directed him to a wooded area near Huddersfield to collect firearms and ammunition.

After checking into a hotel, Natland sent a message to his girlfriend stating, 'In the bag is bang.' Later that evening, when asked by a friend if he had completed the task, he replied, 'No. tomorrow.' However, at 5:15 a.m. on March 19, firearms officers arrested him in his hotel room. He reportedly surrendered with his hands raised, mimicking a firearm and pretending to shoot an officer.

Natland admitted to possessing the firearms but denied the conspiracy to murder charge. While testifying, he claimed he was terrified and intended to sabotage the plan by shooting himself in the foot. However, the prosecution argued this was a fabrication, presenting evidence that Natland had boasted about the mission to friends and told his then-girlfriend it would be 'cool to really kill someone.'

The intended target of the assassination remains unknown. Prosecution statements indicated Natland 'neither knew, nor cared' who the victim was. Once a talented student and footballer, Natland had become dependent on drugs including cannabis, LSD, and cocaine. Jurors were informed that Natland, while not a hardened criminal, was a vulnerable teenager targeted by the Foxtrot Network.

Commander Helen Flanagan of Counter Terrorism Policing London stated that Natland was tasked by the Foxtrot Network, an organization sanctioned by the UK and US for orchestrating violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime. She noted that while there was no direct evidence of Iranian involvement in this specific case, the use of criminal proxies by foreign states to harm the UK is an increasing tactic. These individuals are often recruited online with promises of financial reward but are considered disposable by those directing them, according to Flanagan.