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NORWEGIAN TEENAGER SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN UK OVER MURDER PLOT
A 19-year-old Norwegian man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in the United Kingdom after being convicted of conspiring to commit murder in a p...
By Wavers News
Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, in a photograph released by the Metropolitan Police after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to murder in the United Kingdom.
Johannes Kongsnes Natland was sentenced on Friday, October 16, 2026, at the Old Bailey in London. He must serve a minimum of 13 years in custody.
The case centred on a plot in which Natland travelled from Norway to England after being recruited online to carry out a shooting for a payment of €25,000. The intended victim has never been identified publicly, and investigators have not established a direct connection between the specific plot and the Iranian state.
HOW THE PLOT WAS ARRANGED
According to investigators, Natland was recruited through online communications while he was in Norway. Messages found during the investigation indicated that he was being directed by individuals associated with the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organised crime group.
The instructions included arrangements for his travel to the United Kingdom and directions on how to obtain firearms after arriving. Investigators also recovered digital communications containing maps, photographs and videos showing where weapons had been concealed.
Natland arrived at Manchester Airport on March 17, 2025. He was arrested at a hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, in the early hours of March 19, before the planned shooting took place.
Police said he had travelled to a wooded area in Huddersfield to collect a bag containing firearms. Investigators used CCTV footage from locations including the airport and hotel to reconstruct parts of his movements.
The investigation also uncovered messages sent to Natland through social media while he was still in Norway, asking him to carry out a shooting in Britain. A payment of €25,000 had been proposed for the job.
TWO FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION FOUND
During the investigation, officers recovered a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and 19 bullets from a bag concealed beneath Natland’s hotel bed.
Police said the weapons were part of the preparations for the planned killing. Investigators also examined communications on his phone to establish how he had been instructed to locate the firearms and proceed with the operation.
Natland admitted possessing firearms and ammunition but denied conspiring to commit murder.
During the trial, he argued that he had not intended to carry out the killing. He told the court that he had considered shooting himself in the foot as a way to escape the situation and avoid the consequences of refusing the assignment.
The prosecution disputed his account and presented evidence from his communications. Among the messages cited in the case was a remark in which he reportedly told a friend that “it will be cool to kill someone.”
After considering the evidence, the jury found him guilty of conspiracy to murder. He had also pleaded guilty to firearms and ammunition offences.
COURT SAYS HE WAS COMMITTED TO THE PLAN
At sentencing, Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said Natland had agreed to act as the person who would carry out the killing and had continued with the plan despite opportunities to withdraw.
The judge said she was satisfied that he would have carried out the murder if police had not intervened.
She also emphasised that the absence of a completed killing did not diminish the seriousness of the preparations and the defendant’s participation in the conspiracy.
Natland received a 20-year prison sentence for conspiracy to murder, with a minimum of 13 years to be served in custody. He also received a separate five-year sentence for possessing firearms and ammunition, to run concurrently with the longer sentence.
The sentencing followed his conviction in July 2026.
FOXTROT NETWORK’S WIDER CRIMINAL LINKS
The case has renewed attention on the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish criminal organisation that British and American authorities have linked to violent operations targeting Jewish and Israeli interests in Europe.
The United Kingdom and the United States have alleged that the group carried out attacks on behalf of Iran. Those broader allegations form part of the security background to the investigation into Natland’s recruitment.
However, the distinction between the wider network and this particular case is important. Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said investigators found no evidence of a direct link to Iran in Natland’s case.
Authorities have described online recruitment as a method used by criminal networks and, in some cases, hostile states to enlist people to carry out violent acts. Individuals may be offered money and given instructions remotely, while those organising the activity remain at a distance from the intended crime.
Natland’s conviction demonstrates the legal consequences of agreeing to participate in a planned killing, even when police intervene before the intended victim is harmed.
INVESTIGATION INTO POSSIBLE ASSISTANTS CONTINUES
Police said their investigation into people suspected of helping Natland obtain the weapons and a stolen vehicle remained ongoing when the sentencing announcement was published.
The Metropolitan Police reported that a man arrested in September 2025 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder had been released under investigation. Two other men arrested in Bradford in May on suspicion of handling stolen goods connected to a car were released on bail.
Those details concern separate lines of inquiry. The arrests and releases do not, by themselves, establish that the individuals committed offences.
Natland’s Norwegian lawyer, Farid Bouras, said the defence’s priority was to bring his client back to Norway and that efforts would be made to secure his transfer. Any transfer would depend on the applicable legal arrangements between the countries.
A WARNING ABOUT ONLINE RECRUITMENT
Counter Terrorism Policing London said Natland was arrested only hours before he was expected to carry out the planned assassination. The investigation involved British police teams working alongside Norwegian law enforcement authorities.
The case highlights how online communications can be used to recruit young people into serious criminal activity across national borders. It also demonstrates how digital evidence, CCTV footage and international cooperation can help investigators trace a suspected plot before a planned attack takes place.
For Natland, the conviction has resulted in a lengthy prison sentence. For investigators, the wider inquiry into the people suspected of facilitating the plot remains an important part of the case.