Norwegian Teen Hitman Jailed for 20 Years in UK Assassination Plot Johannes Natland, a Norwegian teenager, was jailed for 20 years for plotting an assassination in the UK on behalf of the Iran-backed Foxtrot Network. A Norwegian teenager, Johannes Natland, has been jailed for 20 years after plotting to assassinate an unidentified target in the United Kingdom on behalf of an Iran-backed gang. Natland, who was 18 at the time, flew from Stavanger in south-west Norway to Britain to carry out the killing in return for 21,000 pounds, a trial at the Old Bailey heard. He was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on 19 March last year, hours before he was due to carry out the hit. Police found a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, 12 rounds of ammunition, and 2,000 pounds in cash in his possession.Conviction and Sentencing at Old BaileyNatland was convicted of conspiracy to murder following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey. He had already admitted possession of firearms. Sentencing, judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told him that he was recruited in Norway to travel to England to kill an unidentified target.She said that although no one was shot dead or physically harmed, she was sure that had the intervention of police not prevented the plan from proceeding, he would have done what he had agreed to.Foxtrot Network and Iranian LinksThe court heard that the murder plot was hatched by a Swedish gang called the Foxtrot Network, a ruthless organised crime group used by the Iranian regime. The UK sanctioned Foxtrot in April last year for their involvement in violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe.Natland became involved in the Huddersfield plot when he received a message on Signal about a murder in England from a user called Unknown Hustler, the Old Bailey was told. He was then added to a group chat with a Norwegian recruiter and a senior Foxtrot recruiter, Swedish-Iraqi gangster Ali Shehab, 22, known as Agent 47, a name taken from the video game Hitman.The jury was not told that Shehab is a close ally of Foxtrot boss Rawa Majid, who allegedly struck a deal with Iran to target the state's enemies abroad.Plot Details and Arrest in HuddersfieldUnder Shehab's instructions, Natland flew from Stavanger to Manchester on 17 March, the court heard. He was questioned by suspicious Border Force officials and ultimately refused entry to the UK but was told to return to the airport for a flight home four days later.This meant Natland was free to enter the country and he took a taxi to a hotel in Manchester. The following day, he was directed by his recruiters to a wood in Huddersfield to collect the guns and ammunition. After checking in at a nearby hotel, he messaged his girlfriend to say that in the bag is bang.At 10.39pm that evening a friend asked Natland if he had done it, and he replied that he would do it tomorrow. But at 5.15am on 19 March, firearms officers arrested him in his room at the Briar Court Hotel in Huddersfield. He came to the door with his hands up, imitating holding a firearm, and pretended to shoot one of the officers.Natland admitted possession of the firearms but denied conspiracy to murder. Giving evidence, he said he was terrified and planned to sabotage the plot at the last minute by shooting himself in the foot. But the prosecution suggested Natland's plan was a lie, arguing that he had boasted to his friends about the mission. The court heard the teenager also told his then-girlfriend that it would be a bit cool to really kill someone.Background and Police ResponseThe intended target remains unknown but Natland neither knew nor cared who he was to murder, the prosecution said. Natland was a talented student and footballer before getting hooked on drugs including cannabis, LSD and cocaine.Jurors heard how Natland, while not quite a hitman from a Hollywood movie, was precisely the type of vulnerable teenager preyed upon by Europe's most menacing gang, the Foxtrot Network.Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said that Natland was clearly being tasked by someone in the Foxtrot Network, an organised criminal group sanctioned by the UK and the US due to its involvement in orchestrating violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.She said that the intended target of this specific assassination has never been identified, and no evidence of any direct link to Iran was found in this case. She added that one of the tactics increasingly used by foreign states seeking to cause harm to the UK is the use of criminal proxies. They often recruit people online with promises of significant financial reward. But the reality is that those carrying out these tasks are viewed as disposable assets by those directing them. They are used when convenient and abandoned when circumstances change.