Norwegian teen 'hitman' detained for UK murder plot

A 19‑year‑old Norwegian who travelled to the United Kingdom to carry out a contract killing has been sentenced to 20 years in detention. Johannes Natland was arrested in a flat in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in March 2025 after police recovered two firearms and 19 rounds of live ammunition. During his retrial, the court heard that he had been “recruited” by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organised‑crime group described as being backed by the Iranian regime. Natland, who had admitted possession of the weapons and ammunition, was unanimously found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday. The Foxtrot Network has been subjected to sanctions by both the United Kingdom and the United States because of its close ties to the Iranian government. The precise identity of Natland’s intended victim remains unknown. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, stated, “We haven't been able to establish precisely who the intended victim was.” The network is noted for pioneering a relatively new model of hiring teenage assassins, a practice Europol has labelled “violence‑as‑a‑service” (VaaS). At the sentencing hearing, Mrs Justice Cheema‑Grubb told Natland, “The Foxtrot Network is an organised crime gang which has developed an arm's‑length method of recruiting young people to carry out violent crimes. You were recruited to travel to England to kill an unidentified target.” Natland had been offered 270,000 Norwegian kroner, roughly £21,000, to perform the killing. He arrived at Manchester Airport on 17 March 2025 travelling on an emergency passport, shortly after his 18th birthday. Once in the UK, he followed instructional videos sent via the Signal messaging app to Huddersfield, where the guns, a stolen vehicle and a cache of cash had been concealed. His plan was thwarted when Norwegian police arrested the individual who had recruited him for the Foxtrot Network and discovered messages concerning the UK assignment on that person’s phone. This triggered a race against time to locate Natland before he could find his unknown target in England. Addressing the defendant, Mrs Justice Cheema‑Grubb said, “At the heart of this case is simply a stark fact. You agreed to assassinate another human being, a stranger to you, in a foreign country. You knew nothing of that person's existence or circumstances. You were just 18 years old when you placed yourself in readiness to kill for money.” Read the full story at BBC News →