Teenager Guilty of UK Contract Killing Plot

Johannes Kongsnes Natland, a 19-year-old Norwegian national, has been convicted of conspiracy to murder at the Old Bailey. The jury found him guilty following a retrial after deliberating for over 17 hours. Natland was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organised crime group with alleged links to Iran, to carry out a killing in the UK.

The teenager travelled to England in March last year with the intention of shooting an unknown individual for a payment of €25,000, which equates to approximately £21,500. Armed police apprehended Natland two days after his arrival in the UK. Officers arrested him in a hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, where they discovered two firearms and ammunition.

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Recruitment and Arrest

Natland, who previously worked part-time in a pizza restaurant, told jurors he initially agreed to the murder plot believing it was a "joke" or "scam", and that he needed money for drugs. He stated that once he realised the seriousness of his involvement with the Foxtrot Network, he considered harming himself to avoid committing the assassination.

The potential target of the foiled plot has not been identified. Metropolitan police counter-terrorism officers presented evidence indicating Natland was fully aware he was expected to kill someone in the UK. Text messages revealed by the prosecution showed Natland communicating with his girlfriend about a "crazy mission" and the prospect of killing someone, stating, "If I don’t get caught we have to celebrate."

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Upon being confronted by armed officers at his hotel, Natland emerged from his room wearing only boxer shorts and made a gesture of shooting an officer with his hands. A search of his room uncovered a plastic bag containing a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, and 19 rounds of ammunition hidden under his bed.

Background and Foxtrot Network

During the trial, a friend of Natland's testified that the defendant had boasted about receiving significant money and that "somebody is going to die." Natland's defence argued these were expressions of bravado, and he was secretly "terrified" and did not see himself as an "international assassin."

The court heard that Natland, a former young footballer, began using drugs at age 13 and spent time in a care home. It was there he reportedly met a teenage member of the Foxtrot Network, who then introduced him to a recruiter known as "Generalen." Natland flew from Stavanger to Manchester on 17 March 2025, using a temporary passport. Border Force officials stopped him at Manchester airport but granted him bail to return home.

Instead of returning to Norway, Natland travelled by taxi to Huddersfield. There, he received £2,000 in cash, the two guns, ammunition, and a stolen Nissan with a false number plate. He was arrested the following morning at 5:15 am. Authorities identified an English-speaking handler for Natland known as "Agent 47," believed to be a reference to the Hitman character, whose identity and location are unknown.

The Foxtrot Network is described as the dominant gang in Sweden, responsible for a large proportion of the country's gang-related violence. Many of its key figures are believed to be fugitives abroad, including its leader, Rawa Majid, also known as the Kurdish Fox, who is thought to be in Iran. In June, Poya Shafie, identified as a planner of Foxtrot's murders and close to Majid, received a life sentence in Sweden after being arrested in Iraq.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb has remanded Natland into custody. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October. The prosecutor, Alistair Richardson, described Natland as a "troubled but dangerous young man" who agreed to kill in a foreign country for financial reward.