Norwegian teen guilty of UK murder plot tied to Iran-linked group

Lead

A Norwegian teenager has been convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in Britain after being recruited by a Swedish organized crime group with links to Iran. Johannes Natland, 19, from Stavanger, Norway, was found guilty by a jury at London's Old Bailey court following a retrial, as reported by The Guardian and other outlets.

Natland was arrested in March last year in a hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, with two firearms and ammunition in his possession. Prosecutors said he had been recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group used by the Iranian state and sanctioned by both Britain and the United States.

Coverage Comparison

Reporting on the case has been broadly consistent across outlets, with the main details — Natland's conviction, his recruitment by the Foxtrot Network, and his arrest in Huddersfield — being carried by multiple sources. The Guardian, ABC Australia, the Jerusalem Post, and others all reported the conviction. The BBC's coverage focused more heavily on the Foxtrot Network's broader history of violence, including its alleged responsibility for around 35 murders and several attacks on Israeli targets in Europe since 2022.

The Jerusalem Post, citing a BBC report, highlighted the network's recruitment of teenagers for murder, including against Israeli targets. The BBC report, authored by UK correspondent Daniel Sandford, also profiled a separate case of an 18-year-old who killed the wrong man in Stockholm after being hired by the same network.

Key Claims

Conviction and Arrest

Natland, now 19, was convicted of conspiracy to murder after a retrial at the Old Bailey. A jury at his initial trial in June could not reach a verdict on that charge. He had admitted possessing a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, and ammunition, but denied conspiracy to murder, saying he did not intend to carry out the plan.

According to The Guardian, Natland agreed to shoot an unknown person for €25,000 (£21,500) in March last year. Two days after he arrived in the UK, armed police arrested him in his hotel room in Huddersfield, seizing two guns and ammunition. The Guardian reported that Natland worked part-time in a pizza restaurant and told jurors he agreed to the plot in exchange for money to pay for drugs, thinking it was just a joke or scam.

The Foxtrot Network

Prosecutors said Natland was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group used by the Iranian state and sanctioned by both Britain and the United States. The group is thought to be responsible for around 35 murders and several attacks on Israeli targets in Europe since 2022, as reported by the BBC and the Jerusalem Post.

According to the BBC, the network routinely offers to pay teenagers to commit crimes, but the teenagers are often caught during or after their attempted attack, meaning the network rarely needs to pay the money promised. The network's leader, Rawa Majid, is reportedly based in Tehran and has ties to the Iranian regime, the BBC reported.

Swedish investigative journalist Diamant Salihu told the BBC that the organization has a "deliberate policy to recruit younger and younger teenagers because they don't think about the consequences of getting caught, and they are more willing to take the risks."

The Plot's Target

The potential victim of the foiled murder plot has never been identified, as reported by The Guardian. Metropolitan police said their counter-terrorism officers "uncovered a significant amount of evidence demonstrating that Natland was fully aware he was being asked to kill someone in the UK."

Prosecutor Alistair Richardson told jurors that someone using the name "Agent 47" organized hiring an assassin with €25,000 "in the pot" to pay for it. Richardson said Natland "neither knew, nor cared who he was to kill ... to him, this was all about the money."

Perspectives

Prosecution

Prosecutors, including Alistair Richardson, argued that Natland was fully aware of the murder plot and was motivated by money. Metropolitan police stated that evidence showed Natland knew he was being asked to kill someone in the UK.

Defense

Natland denied conspiracy to murder, saying he did not intend to carry out the plan. He told jurors he initially agreed to the plot thinking it was a "joke" or "scam," and once he realized he was in a "pickle" with the Foxtrot Network, he planned to "shoot himself in the foot" to avoid carrying out the assassination.

Investigative Journalist

Diamant Salihu, a Swedish investigative journalist, told the BBC that the Foxtrot Network has a deliberate policy of recruiting young teenagers who are more willing to take risks, and that the Iranian regime is ordering leader Rawa Majid to attack Iran's enemies.