Norwegian teenager jailed for 20 years over Iran-backed gang murder plot

A 19-year-old Norwegian man has been sentenced to 20 years in detention for agreeing to carry out a murder in the UK on behalf of an Iran-backed international crime gang.

Johannes Kongsnes Natland, a talented footballer from Stavanger, had agreed to shoot an unknown target in return for €25,000 (£21,500). He travelled to the UK in March last year and two days later was arrested by armed police at a hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, before he could carry out the killing.

Officers found him in possession of a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, 12 rounds of live ammunition and gloves. He admitted possessing the firearms and ammunition, telling the court he had intended to shoot himself in the foot to get out of the "pickle" he was in. He was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and sentenced on Friday.

Recruited through a gang network

The court heard Natland had been recruited by another teenager, referred to as Generalen, who was working for the proscribed Swedish Foxtrot gang. The gang is backed by the Iranian regime and is known for recruiting children as young as 13 to become involved in drug smuggling and violent crimes.

Natland was controlled by an English-speaking boss called Agent 47, an apparent reference to the Hitman gaming and film franchise. The identity and whereabouts of Agent 47 remain unknown.

He flew into Manchester on a temporary passport and was stopped by Border Force officials, who bailed him to return to the airport to catch the next direct flight home. Instead, he travelled by taxi to Huddersfield, booked into the Briar Court hotel and picked up the guns and ammunition, as well as £2,000 in cash. He was directed to a stolen Nissan with false number plates, which was to be used in the murder.

While in the hotel, Natland took selfies with the guns and cash spread out on his bed, and bragged to his girlfriend that he had the "bangs in the bag". Armed police arrived to arrest him at 5.15am the next day.

'You agreed to be the enforcer'

Paul Hynes KC, defending, pointed to Natland's age at the time of the offending and said he had been a "young, popular, successful student and sportsman" before he went "off the rails" after he became addicted to drugs.

Giving evidence, Natland told jurors: "I wasn't an international assassin. I thought people had this impression and expected me to be this guy. I knew I wasn't."

In a televised sentencing at Woolwich crown court in south-east London, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said messages he had sent showed "not only participation but at points excitement" about what he had been planning to do.

"You agreed to be the enforcer and pursued it, despite numerous opportunities to extricate yourself," she said. "Although the fact that no one was shot dead or physically harmed is important, I am sure had the intervention of the police not prevented the plan from proceeding, you would have done what you had agreed to."

Source: The Guardian World.