Teenage hitman who travelled to Britain to kill for Iranian crime gang jailed for 20 years

A Norwegian teenager has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for travelling to Britain to carry out a killing on behalf of an international crime gang backed by Iran. Johannes Natland, 19, was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court this morning, having been convicted of conspiracy to murder following a retrial. He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing ammunition without a firearms certificate. The 19-year-old was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield two days after his arrival to the UK, found with a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and 12 rounds of live ammunition. He had agreed to shoot an unknown target for 25,000 euros (£21,500) in March last year. Natland admitted possessing the firearms and ammunition recovered upon his arrest, but claimed he would have shot himself in the foot to get out of the “pickle” he was in. In a televised sentencing at Woolwich Crown Court, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: “You were recruited in Norway to travel to England and kill an unidentified target. You agreed to be the enforcer and pursued it, despite numerous opportunities to extricate yourself. “Although the fact that no one was shot dead or physically harmed is important, I am sure had the intervention of the police not prevented the plan from proceeding, you would have done what you had agreed to." She said messages he sent showed “not only participation, but at points excitement” about what he was planning to do. The court heard that Natland was recruited by another teenager referred to as “Generalen” who was working for the proscribed Swedish Foxtrot gang. The gang is backed by the Iranian regime, and is known for deploying children as young as 13 in drug smuggling and violent crimes. Natland was controlled by an English-speaking boss called Agent 47, in an apparent reference to the Hitman gaming and film franchise. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS Under the direction of Agent 47, Natland flew from Stavanger to Manchester Airport on a temporary passport on March 17 last year. Border Force officers stopped him and required him to return to Norway, but instead he travelled to Huddersfield, where he collected £2,000, two guns and ammunition. He was also directed to a stolen Nissan with false number plates intended for the planned killing. While staying at the Briar Court Hotel, Natland messaged his girlfriend that he had the “bangs in the bag” and took selfies with the weapons and cash spread across his bed. At 5.15am the following morning, armed police arrested the teenager at the hotel. Wearing only boxer shorts, he emerged smiling and pretended to shoot an officer with his empty hands. During his trial, a footballer friend recalled Natland discussing the “Swedish Foxes” and saying: “I’m going to get a lot of money and somebody is going to die.” Natland told jurors he had wanted to look “cool” to his peers and described his comments as “bravado”, insisting he was actually “terrified”. He said he was not an international assassin, and had felt pressured to live up to others’ expectations. His defence lawyer, Paul Hynes KC, highlighted Natland’s young age and previous achievements as a student and sportsman, arguing that drug abuse had contributed to his decline. He stressed that Natland had changed, and posed no future danger. His 17-year-old recruiter, known as “Generalen”, was convicted in Norway of attempting to “contribute to murder” in May last year. Police have also arrested three other people in connection with related investigations, although prosecutors have yet to decide whether to indict them. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “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. “The intended target of this specific assassination has never been identified, and we found no evidence of any direct link to Iran in this case. “However, as recent events have shown, CTP will seek to proactively disrupt any attempts by hostile states to carry out criminal acts in the UK.” Meanwhile, Frank Ferguson, head of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “This case shows how organised crime networks operate across borders and exploit young people to carry out serious violence. “Thanks to swift and coordinated police work, this plot was stopped before anyone was harmed. “The evidence in this case - including telephone evidence, text messages, CCTV footage and witness testimony - clearly left no doubt that Natland intended to carry out this crime. “This conviction sends a clear message: if you come to this country to commit serious violence on behalf of organised criminals, you will be caught and we will make sure you are brought to justice.” Follow related topics: