Norwegian teenager jailed for 20 years over UK murder plot
A 19-year-old man from Stavanger, Norway, has been sentenced to 20 years in detention for travelling to the United Kingdom to murder an unknown target for €25,000 (£21,500). Johannes Kongsnes Natland had agreed to carry out the killing on behalf of an Iran-backed international crime network, The Guardian reported.
Natland was sentenced on 16 October 2026 at Woolwich crown court in south-east London by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb. He had admitted possessing firearms and ammunition and was found guilty of conspiracy to murder.
He was recruited by another teenager referred to as Generalen, who was working for the proscribed Swedish Foxtrot gang. The Foxtrot gang is backed by the Iranian regime and known for recruiting children as young as 13 for drug smuggling and violent crimes, The Guardian reported. In the UK, Natland was controlled by an English-speaking boss called Agent 47, whose identity and whereabouts remain unknown.
Natland travelled to the UK in March last year, flying into Manchester on a temporary passport. He was stopped by Border Force officials, who bailed him to return to the airport to catch the next direct flight home. Instead, he took a taxi to Huddersfield and booked into the Briar Court hotel.
In Huddersfield he picked up guns, ammunition and £2,000 in cash. He was directed to a stolen Nissan with false number plates to be used in the assassination. While at the hotel he took selfies with guns and cash on his bed and told his girlfriend he had the "bangs in the bag".
Armed police arrested him at the hotel at 5.15am the next day, two days after he arrived in the country, before he could carry out the hit. Police found him in possession of a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, 12 rounds of live ammunition and gloves.
