A Norwegian teenager recruited by a notorious Swedish organised crime syndicate to carry out a contract killing in England, Johannes Natland, has been found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a retrial at the Old Bailey.
The 19-year-old was convicted unanimously after jurors deliberated for more than 17 hours. He had admitted possessing two firearms and 19 rounds of live ammunition but denied plotting to commit murder.
Natland showed no visible reaction as the guilty verdict was delivered.
Opening the prosecution’s case, Alistair Richardson told jurors the defendant had been “recruited” by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organised crime group allegedly backed by the Iranian regime.
Although Natland admitted travelling to the UK armed with two guns, he claimed he never intended to kill anyone. Instead, he said he planned to shoot himself in the foot because he had found himself in “a major pickle”.
The court heard that the Foxtrot Network has been sanctioned by both the UK and the United States over its links to the Iranian government.
The criminal organisation has also gained notoriety for recruiting teenagers to carry out contract killings in what Europol has described as “violence-as-a-service” (VaaS).
Evidence presented during the trial showed Natland arrived at Manchester Airport on 17 March 2025 using an emergency passport.
Guided through encrypted Signal messages, he travelled to Huddersfield, where he recovered two firearms, a stolen vehicle and cash hidden for him.
His mission was halted after Norwegian police arrested the 17-year-old recruiter, known online as “Generalen”, at Oslo Airport. Officers discovered messages detailing the planned killing in England and alerted UK authorities, triggering an urgent operation involving Counter Terrorism Policing.
Natland was arrested at the Briar Court Hotel in Huddersfield, where officers found two loaded handguns hidden beneath his bed. Prosecutors said he mimed shooting at one of the armed officers as police entered his room before he was restrained and arrested.
The teenager who recruited him cannot be identified because of his age. However, Generalen was convicted in Norway in May for his role in the UK murder conspiracy, along with multiple attempted murders and arson attacks organised on behalf of the Foxtrot Network.
He was also convicted over the killings of Ahmed Zamzam at Lund Central Station in January 2024 and Murad Abdelkader in Stockholm’s Alby district less than a month later.
During his Norwegian trial, Generalen admitted Abdelkader had not been the intended victim.
He instructed gunman Atilla Azimov to shoot him “five or six times in the back” before firing into his face, later describing the operation as successful despite killing the wrong person.
Generalen also revealed that his Foxtrot mentor used the alias “Agent 47”. Swedish investigators believe the individual is Ali Shehab Ahmed, who was arrested in Iraq last December and is awaiting extradition.
Authorities have described him as a key figure in the Foxtrot Network and a close associate of its alleged leader, Rawa Majid.
Natland, who grew up in Stavanger, Norway, told the court he began abusing drugs at 13 and by last year was using them almost daily. He dropped out of school and later suffered drug-induced psychosis, leading to treatment in a psychiatric unit.
He said he later stayed briefly at a home for troubled youths, where he met one of the people who eventually introduced him to the Foxtrot Network through the online alias UnknownHustler.
On 15 March 2025, UnknownHustler forwarded him a message advertising what investigators described as a VaaS contract.
The message read, “Killing in England 270k. Have transport ready out of the country. Will smuggle assassin out of the country. The police will be paid to look the other way. Nothing can go wrong.”
The offer promised 270,000 Norwegian kroner, approximately £21,000, for the killing.
Natland was subsequently added to a Signal group called Assassin EU, where his first message asked, “Who is to be killed?”
The intended target was never identified before his arrest.
The following day, Agent 47 booked Natland on a one-way flight from Stavanger to Manchester using an emergency passport because his regular passport had expired.
Border Force officers initially refused him entry after becoming suspicious about his lack of funds, accommodation and return ticket. However, he was granted temporary admission because the next available flight back to Norway was three days later.
Following instructions from Agent 47 and another operative identified only as “1”, Natland travelled to Huddersfield, collected cash hidden beneath rubbish near a footpath tunnel and checked into the Briar Court Hotel.
He later retrieved a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and ammunition from nearby woodland before returning to the hotel.
Investigators said he recorded videos of himself handling the firearms and photographed himself surrounded by cash on his hotel bed before sending the images to friends.
Later that evening, Agent 47 messaged him: “We have much to do tomorrow.”
Natland then asked, “How does it work with the money?”
“Which money?” Agent 47 replied.
“The payment for the job,” Natland responded.
“You will get it when the job is done,” Agent 47 said. “In cash.”
Before the plan could be carried out, Norwegian police intercepted Generalen and discovered details of the intended assassination, prompting UK authorities to locate Natland before any attack could take place.
He was arrested at 05:15 GMT on 19 March 2025 in Room 207 of the Briar Court Hotel.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb remanded Natland in custody after ordering a pre-sentence report. He is due to be sentenced in October.
Reacting to the conviction, Frank Ferguson, head of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of the Crown Prosecution Service, said, “This was a calculated plan to kill for money.
“Johannes Natland was just 18 when he travelled to the UK, having agreed to carry out a murder on behalf of others for financial gain.
“This case shows how organised crime networks operate across borders and exploit young people to carry out serious violence.
“Thanks to swift and coordinated police work, this plot was stopped before anyone was harmed.
“The evidence in this case – including telephone evidence, text messages, CCTV footage and witness testimony – clearly left no doubt that Natland intended to carry out this crime.
“This conviction sends a clear message: if you come to this country to commit serious violence on behalf of organised criminals, you will be caught and we will make sure you are brought to justice.”
