Norwegian teenager sentenced in Britain to 20 years for preparing a contract killing for the Foxtrot network

The key facts

Johannes Natland, 19, was sentenced to 20 years for conspiracy to murder; he admitted firearms possession, and the conspiracy verdict was reached unanimously after a retrial.
He was recruited by Foxtrot Network for a reward (about £21,000 / €25,000 according to media reports) and was arrested at a hotel in Huddersfield in March 2025 with two pistols and 19 rounds of ammunition.
The target's identity was not established; police found no direct link to Iran in this case, although Foxtrot Network has been sanctioned by the US and Britain over its ties to Tehran.

Sentence and verdict

19-year-old Norwegian Johannes Natland was sentenced on Friday at Woolwich Crown Court (London) to 20 years' detention for conspiracy to murder. According to the BBC, he must serve at least two-thirds of the sentence. Natland had previously pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition, and after a retrial the jury unanimously found him guilty of conspiracy to murder. Judge Bobby Cheema-Grubb said that, in her view, if the police had not thwarted the plan, he would have carried out the agreement.

Circumstances of the case

According to court materials, Natland was recruited by Foxtrot Network — a Swedish organised crime group described in court as backed by the Iranian regime. The BBC reports he was promised 270,000 Norwegian kroner (about £21,000); euronews cites a figure of €25,000. He arrived at Manchester airport on 17 March 2025 on an emergency passport, shortly after turning 18, and was stopped by border officers with instructions to return home, but instead took a taxi to Huddersfield. Following instructions sent via the Signal messenger, he collected £2,000 in cash, two pistols and ammunition, and was directed to a stolen Nissan with false plates. He was arrested at the Briar Court hotel in Huddersfield; under the bed police found a bag containing a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and 19 rounds of ammunition. According to police, his handler was a person using the pseudonym Agent 47 — a reference to the Hitman game series; the BBC also mentions a recruiter with the nickname UnknownHustler.

The thwarted plan and the police's role

The plan was interrupted after Norwegian police arrested the teenager who had recruited Natland and found messages about the British plot on his phone. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of London's counter-terrorism policing, said the identity of the intended victim could not be established and no evidence of a direct link to Iran was found in this case. According to her, Natland was detained a few hours before the intended killing. At the arrest, according to released footage, he mimed shooting at a police officer with his fingers. The investigation continues: in September 2025 a 27-year-old man was detained on suspicion of conspiracy (later released under investigation), and on 20 May two men aged 30 and 27 were detained in Bradford on suspicion of handling a stolen car; they were released on bail.

Foxtrot Network and 'violence as a service'

Foxtrot Network, whose leader is named as Rawa Majid, has been placed on US and UK sanctions lists over its ties to the Iranian government. The US State Department asserts that the Iranian regime uses the network to organise attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets in Europe. The group is known for recruiting teenagers to carry out violence — Europol calls this phenomenon 'violence-as-a-service'.

The defendant's identity and his position

Natland grew up in Stavanger; according to the BBC, he began using drugs at 13, dropped out of school and experienced drug-induced psychosis. His lawyer Paul Hines KC said his mental disorder was aggravated, if not caused, by drug use. The defendant himself argued at trial that he had wanted to look 'cool' in the eyes of his peers, that it was 'bravado' and that inside he was 'terrified', and that he did not intend to see it through to a shooting, although the BBC notes his words to a girlfriend about being willing to kill for money.

Defence reaction

Natland's Norwegian lawyers called the 20-year sentence very harsh for a person who was 18 at the time of arrest, noting that other young figures in related cases in Norway mostly received juvenile sentences or community punishments. They said they would seek his transfer to Norway to serve his sentence.