Norwegian teenage hitman who flew to UK to commit murder jailed

A Norwegian teenager who flew to the UK to carry out murder for an Iran-backed gang has been jailed for 20 years.

Johannes Natland, 19, agreed to shoot an unknown target in exchange for €25,000 (£21,000).

He was recruited by the Sweden-based Foxtrot network, which has been sanctioned in the US and the UK over violence against Jewish and Israeli targets on behalf of the Iranian regime.

Natland was directed to stashes of cash, guns and bullets by a fixer in the UK, before being arrested by armed counter-terrorism police at a hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on 19 March last year.

During the arrest, he formed his hands into an imaginary gun and pretended to shoot officers, who found two guns, live bullets and £2,000 in cash.

Natland admitted possession of the two guns and ammunition but denied conspiracy to murder, telling a jury: "I'm not no cold-blooded professional hitman."

He was found guilty at the Old Bailey at a retrial after the first jury failed to agree on a verdict.

Natland, wearing a pale blue shirt, smiled at his family, including his parents and brother and sister, in the public gallery as he came into Woolwich Crown Court to be sentenced, while his mother blew kisses as he was taken down to the cells.

Sentencing Natland the judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, told him: "At the heart of this case is the stark fact you agreed to assassinate another human being, a stranger to you, in a foreign country.

"You knew nothing about the person's life or circumstances.

"You were just 18 years old when you placed yourself in readiness to murder for money.

"The commission was for the Foxtrot network and arranged online through social media platforms.

"But the idea of being involved in such an endeavour thrilled your immature personality, which was no longer tethered to the strong family network and social network you had grown up in, due to teenage drug addiction."

Gang linked to murders across Europe

The court heard how the talented footballer was recruited by the Foxtrot gang, led by Rawa Majid, known as the Kurdish Fox, days before he flew to Manchester Airport on 17 March last year, when he was aged just 18.

The group has been linked to around 35 murders in Europe as well as other violent attacks and firebombings, using violence-as-a-service tactics.

The gang advertises violent assignments on social media apps, such as Snapchat, Telegram and Signal, targeting children as young as 12 in groups with thousands of members with names like "Samurai kids".

Natland was first put in touch with a member of the gang by a boy he met in a care home and was passed on to a recruiter using the online alias Generalen, another teenager from the same city as Natland.

Generalen has been convicted and jailed in Norway over his involvement in the plot - as well as two murders in Sweden and two other attempted murders.

He was acting for a higher-level recruiter, "Agent 47" - named after a character in the Hitman videogame - who is believed to be Ali Shehab Ahmed, 22, who was arrested in Iraq last year.

'I'm going on a crazy mission'

In messages shown in court, Agent 47 told Generalen: "Brother, sort an assassin abroad. Urgent. Europe."

Generalen asked: "How much is in the pot?" and Agent 47 replied: "25k euro."

In a message on 15 March last year, Natland asked Generalen, "Who is to be shot?" before telling his girlfriend he was "going on a crazy mission".

Agent 47 put Natland in touch with a facilitator in the UK, known as "1", who directed him to a stash of cash hidden under a bridge.

He used the money to pay for a room for three nights at the Briar Court Hotel before being sent another video and map showing the route to the base of a tree, where he picked up the guns and ammunition.

On 18 March, he bought three pairs of workman-style black and orange gloves which he wore to handle the weapons - an antique pistol, a semi-automatic handgun and 12 live bullets - in videos filmed on his phone.

He was also sent the location of a stolen car, while Agent 47 told him: "We have much to do tomorrow."

Natland told the jury he initially thought the plot was a "joke", then planned to shoot himself in the foot because he thought he or his family may be killed if he backed out.

"When I realised this is real and these guys are expecting me to go to England and shoot someone, I'm in a bit of a pickle," he said.

'My son could never kill anyone'

Natland's mother, who does not want to be named or pictured, previously told Sky News prosecutors had portrayed her son as a "monster", but she believes he is a victim of "human trafficking".

"When it can happen to us, it can happen to anyone," she said.

"I know that my son could never kill anyone. He's just not got it, he's not that kind of person, it's totally out of character.

"He's never shown any way of being that should make him a hitman or a killer... It would never happen. No one knows him better than I do."

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Paul Hynes KC, defending, said Natland had been a "popular, successful student and sportsman" until his "tragic descent" into using drugs, which "exacerbated if not created" significant mental health issues.

He said his arrest and convictions have been a "chastening, humbling and frightening" experience and Natland is not the young man who replied to the message, "saying is anyone up for murder for money?".

Met Police Commander Helen Flanagan, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said Natland was arrested "just hours before he was due to carry out an assassination".

"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," she said.

"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."

Natland's Norwegian lawyers said they will work to have him transferred to Norway to serve his sentence as quickly as possible.

"Our priority now is to bring him home," said Farid Bouras.

"Whatever we conclude about the sentence, the aim is clear: he is to serve his sentence in Norway, close to his family, in a system designed to bring young people back into society."

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