Johannes Kongsnes Natland, a 19-year-old Norwegian national, has been convicted at the Old Bailey for plotting a murder in England. Natland was recruited by the Sweden-based Foxtrot Network to carry out an assassination for a fee of €25,000.
The €25,000 price tag for a Huddersfield hit
Johannes Kongsnes Natland, a resident of Stavanger, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder after being ambushed by police in a West Yorkshire hotel room. According to the report, Natland was discovered with two functioning firearms, 19 rounds of live ammunition, and £2,000 in cash. when confronted by officers, the teenager reportedly mimed shooting one of them before being detained.
The court heard that Natland, who previously worked part-time at a pizza restaurant and was an aspiring lawyer, had agreed to assassinate an unknown individual for a payment of €25,000 (£21,000). In messages sent to his girlfriend, the young man expressed excitement about the mission, stating it would be "cool" to finally kill someone.
How Rawa Majid's 'Violence-as-a-Service' recruits 13-year-olds
The Foxtrot Network, led by Swedish-Iraqi national Rawa Majid (known as the "Kurdish Fox"), has pioneered a criminal model Europol describes as "violence-as-a-service" (VaaS). This system utilizes a rigid hierarchy of instigators who finance the crimes, recruiters who source talent, and enforcers who carry out the violence. The network frequently recruits children as young as 13 via platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.
As reported, the Foxtrot Network specifically targets minors to exploit a legal loophole in Scandinavia that prevents children under 15 from being held criminally responsible. This strategic recruitment allows the gang to carry out arson, bombings, and murders with significantly reduced legal risk for the primary executors.
The Iranian connection and the January 2024 Stockholm embassy plot
Beyond the Scandinavian drug trade,the Foxtrot Network is linked to the Iranian regime, with leader Rawa Majid being sanctioned by the UK government. The group is believed to be involved in violent plots against Jewish and Israeli targets, including an attempted attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm in January 2024, where an explosive device was discovered outside the building.
This geopolitical dimension suggests that the Foxtrot Network operates as more than a local gang; it is a tool for international state-sponsored aggression, with Rawa Majid understood to live under the protection of the Islamic Republic.
From the Bislett nail salon to the streets of Sarpsborg
The influence of the Foxtrot Network has expanded rapidly from Sweden into Norway. the report states that on September 23,2025, grenades exploded outside a nail salon in Bislett, Oslo, an attack police linked to two 13-year-old boys who were recruited via TikTok and paid 30,000 NOK (£2,000).
Further violence followed across Norway, including a shooting in Sarpsborg involving boys aged 12, 13, and 14, and a grenade attack at a sushi restaurant in Strömme. These events illustrate a pattern of importing Swedish gang tactics to destabilize Norwegian security through the use of disposable teenage operatives.
Who was the intended target in West Yorkshire?
Despite the conviction of Johannes Kongsnes Natland, several critical details remain obscured. The source does not identify the "unknown person" Natland was hired to kill, nor does it explain why a Swedish-led gang targeted someone in Huddersfield. Furthermore, while the "Samurai Kids" Telegram group once boasted between 10,000 and 11,000 members, the full current scale of the network's digital recruitment remains unverified following the group's closure.
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