A 19-year-old Norwegian man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of traveling to the United Kingdom to carry out a contract killing allegedly arranged by an international criminal network with links to Iran.
Johannes Kongsnes Natland was found guilty in July of conspiring to murder an unidentified person after agreeing to carry out the shooting for 25,000 euros — about 21,500 pounds or $28,000 — last year.
Police arrested Natland at a hotel in Huddersfield, northern England, two days after he entered the country. Officers found him with two firearms and ammunition. He admitted possessing the weapons but claimed he had no intention of completing the planned killing.
At the time of his arrest, Natland was working part time at a pizza restaurant. Prosecutors said he had been recruited online by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group, while playing a video game.
Counterterrorism officers from London’s Metropolitan Police have said the network maintains links to the Iranian government.
At Natland’s sentencing hearing at Woolwich Crown Court in southeast London, Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said he had accepted the role of an enforcer and continued pursuing the assignment despite having several chances to withdraw.
“The fact that nobody was shot or physically injured is significant,” the judge said. “But I am satisfied that, without police intervention, you would have carried out the act to which you had agreed.”
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Natland was reportedly recruited by a 17-year-old individual known by the alias “Generalen.”
A Norwegian court convicted the teenager last year of attempting to “contribute to murder” and imposed a 14-year custodial sentence.
Norwegian police have also charged three other people in connection with the case, although prosecutors have not yet decided whether to bring formal indictments.
Commander Helen Flanagan, who leads Counter Terrorism Policing London, praised the “exceptional work” of British and Norwegian investigators. She said their cooperation enabled officers to arrest Natland just hours before he was allegedly due to carry out the assassination.
“Natland was clearly being directed by someone within the Foxtrot Network,” Flanagan said. She described it as an organized criminal group sanctioned by both the United Kingdom and the United States over allegations that it coordinated attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of Iran’s government.
The British government imposed sanctions on the Foxtrot Network and its leader last year, citing their alleged role in arranging violence against Jewish and Israeli targets across Europe for the Iranian regime.
The measures include an asset freeze, preventing UK companies and individuals from dealing with money or other economic resources controlled by the organization.
