A Norwegian teenager recruited to carry out a contract killing in Britain has been sentenced to 20 years in detention after an investigation by Counter Terrorism Policing uncovered an assassination plot connected to an international organised crime network.
Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, was sentenced on Friday 16 October 2026 after being convicted of conspiracy to murder. Counter Terrorism Policing said he must serve at least 13 years in custody. He also received a concurrent five-year sentence for firearms and ammunition offences to which he had previously pleaded guilty.
Weapons recovered in Huddersfield
Natland arrived at Manchester Airport from Norway on 17 March 2025. Investigators established that he had received instructions directing him to Huddersfield, where he collected weapons concealed in a wooded area. Police arrested him in a hotel in the early hours of 19 March, before the planned killing could take place.
Officers recovered a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and ammunition. Counter Terrorism Policing reported finding 19 bullets. Digital evidence included maps, images, videos and messages giving Natland detailed instructions about travel and the weapons collection point.
Investigators said a payment of €25,000 had been suggested for carrying out the killing. A contact using the name 'Agent 47' supplied instructions, including which flight to take and where to stay. The intended victim has not been identified.
Connection to the Foxtrot Network
Police said Natland had been tasked by a person connected to the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish-based organised crime group sanctioned by the United Kingdom and United States. The network has been linked by authorities to violence targeting Jewish and Israeli interests in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.
However, investigators expressly stated that they found no evidence of a direct Iranian connection to this particular assassination plot. The existence of wider links between the network and Iran does not establish that the Iranian state ordered, directed or knew about Natland's intended killing.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said the arrest followed cooperation between British and Norwegian law enforcement. She warned that hostile states sometimes seek to use criminal proxies recruited online, while emphasising that no direct Iran link had been found in this case.
Conviction and sentencing
Natland was convicted of conspiracy to murder following a retrial in July 2026. During proceedings he claimed he did not intend to carry out the assassination and had considered injuring himself to avoid completing it. The jury rejected his account and found him guilty.
The 16 October sentencing is a separate development from the July conviction. The 20-year term concerns the murder conspiracy, while the additional firearms sentence runs concurrently rather than consecutively.
The Crown Prosecution Service said a 17-year-old in Norway had previously been sentenced to 14 years for involvement in recruiting Natland. British police said investigations into other people suspected of assisting with the plot remained ongoing.
National security implications
The case highlights how organised criminal networks can recruit people across borders using online communications and promises of payment. Counter Terrorism Policing has identified the use of criminal intermediaries as a security concern, but the authorities have not classified this specific plot as an Iranian-directed operation.
No one was killed or physically injured in the planned assassination, and the intended target remains unknown.
Sources
- Counter Terrorism Policing: Teenager who travelled to UK to carry out murder sentenced to 20 years (16 October 2026)
- Crown Prosecution Service: Teen 'hitman' guilty of UK murder plot (29 July; sentencing update 16 October 2026)
- Metropolitan Police: Sentencing announcement (16 October 2026)
- Reuters: Norwegian teen sentenced to 20 years for UK murder plot (16 October 2026)