Norwegian Teen Jailed 20 Years for UK Murder Plot for Iran-Linked Gang

Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, a Norwegian teenager, was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for plotting a contract killing in the U.K. on behalf of an international crime gang linked to Iran.

Natland was convicted in July of conspiracy to murder for agreeing to shoot an unknown target for 25,000 euros. He was arrested at a hotel in Huddersfield, northern England, in March last year with two guns and ammunition, two days after arriving in the U.K. and hours before the planned assassination. Natland admitted possessing the firearms but claimed he did not intend to carry out the plan, considering shooting himself in the foot.

Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb stated Natland agreed to be the enforcer and pursued it, despite numerous opportunities to extricate yourself, and was sure he would have carried out the murder if police had not intervened. Natland was recruited by a Swedish organized crime group known as the Foxtrot Network while playing an online game. Counter Terrorism Policing London stated the Foxtrot Network has links to the Iranian government and is sanctioned by the U.K. and U.S. for orchestrating violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.

Natland was hired by a 17-year-old known as "Generalen," who was sentenced to 14 years in custody in Norway for attempting to contribute to murder. Prosecutors said Natland boasted to a friend that it will be cool to kill someone. The intended target was never identified, and Counter Terrorism Policing London found no evidence of a direct link to Iran in this specific case.