Teen hitman gets 20 years for UK murder plot tied to criminal group

UPDATE - follow-up to Norwegian teen 'hitman' detained for UK murder plot: Johannes Natland, 19, has been sentenced to 20 years of detention after being convicted of conspiracy to murder during a retrial at Woolwich Crown Court.

The Crime And Arrest

Natland travelled from Norway to the UK in March 2025 to carry out a hit for an organized crime group called the Foxtrot Network. He flew into Manchester Airport on an emergency passport shortly after his 18th birthday and was guided to Huddersfield using messages on the Signal app. Police arrested him in a room at the Briar Court Hotel with two working guns and 19 rounds of live ammunition hidden under his bed. When officers opened the door, he mimed shooting one of them with his hands before being handcuffed.

Recruitment And Background

A jury heard Natland was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish criminal group backed by the Iranian government that uses a method Europol calls "violence-as-a-service." He had been offered 270,000 Norwegian Kroner, which is about £21,000, for the killing. Natland grew up as a promising footballer in Stavanger, Norway, but began taking drugs at age 13, dropped out of school, and later spent time in a psychiatric unit with drug-induced psychosis after meeting one of his recruiters at a home for problem children.

Context

The Foxtrot Network has been sanctioned by both the UK and the US due to its links with the Iranian government and its use of young recruits for cross-border violence. Commander Helen Flanagan from Counter Terrorism Policing London noted that authorities were ultimately able to stop the plot because Norwegian police arrested Natland's recruiter and found messages about the UK plan on his phone, triggering a race against time to locate Natland before he found his target.