Teenage Norwegian hitman guilty of plotting to murder UK target on behalf of Iran-backed gang A 19-year-old Norwegian teenager has been convicted of conspiracy to murder following a retrial. He was accused of plotting to assassinate a target on behalf of an Iranian-backed Swedish gang. A 19-year-old Norwegian teenager, Johannes Natland, has been convicted of conspiracy to murder following a retrial. He was accused of plotting to assassinate a target on behalf of an Iranian-backed Swedish gang. Natland, who came from a middle-class home in Stavanger, Norway, was described as a bright student, talented footballer, and aspiring lawyer. However, he was vulnerable to being preyed upon by Europe's most menacing gang, the Foxtrot Network. The gang, which has wreaked havoc across Scandinavia in recent years, is believed to be its first case on UK soil. The case offers a worrying window into how Iranian proxy gangs are waging a war of terror across Europe.Natland was in contact with a senior Foxtrot recruiter, Ali Shehab, also known as 'Agent 47'. Shehab is a close ally of the Foxtrot boss who allegedly struck a deal with Iran to target the state's enemies abroad. Natland's mission was to assassinate a target in the UK for £21,000. He was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, hours before he was due to carry out the hit.Natland's girlfriend, Sara Solbi, testified that he told her 'Now I can finally kill someone and it's perfect. I get money to do it'. The teenager's parents are journalists, and he grew up in a safe town enriched by North Sea oil.However, Natland had a rather less glowing review of his hometown, saying 'Football is really the only thing to do there. All I know is it is quite a s***y city'. He began smoking cannabis at 13 and later graduated to ecstasy, LSD, cocaine, and heroin. Natland was 'in recovery' when he received a sinister message from an online alias 'Unknown Hustler' about a 'japping' in England for a bounty of 270,000 Norwegian Kroner (£21,000).The message said the 'assassin' would be smuggled out of the country, adding: 'Nothing can go wrong'. Minutes later, Natland was added to a group chat with a Stavanger-based recruiter called 'Generalen' and Shehab. In a message to the latter, Generalen claimed Stavanger provided 'assassin after assassin'. In court, Natland said he thought it was 'a joke'.But messages suggest he took it deadly seriously. Natland asked: 'Who is to be shot?' Just over an hour later, he messaged his girlfriend about his 'crazy mission'. On March 17, Natland flew to Manchester with an emergency passport. He had just £40 in cash, a mobile phone, and a small bag of clothes. He was denied entry due to doubts over his age and funds.But there were no flights back to Stavanger that day, so Natland was allowed into the UK and told to return on March 21. Throughout this time, he had been receiving direct instructions from Shehab. Once in England, he was handed over to another agent, likely based in this country. Natland was found guilty at the Old Bailey of travelling to England to carrying out a hit on behalf of an international crime gang backed by Iran.Natland took a taxi to Huddersfield, where he was directed to a wood in which the guns, ammunition, and cash were stashed. He then checked in to Briar Court Hotel, where double rooms go for £120 per night