A Norwegian teenager has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in the United Kingdom after being convicted of travelling there to carry out an assassination. The case involved an international criminal network, weapons allegedly supplied for the planned attack and wider concerns about hostile-state activity in Europe.
Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, was arrested in northern England in March 2025, two days after arriving at Manchester Airport. Police found a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and 19 rounds of ammunition in a bag beneath his hotel bed, according to the Metropolitan Police.
What happened in the UK assassination plot?
Prosecutors said Natland had agreed to undertake a contract killing in exchange for €25,000. Investigators found communications indicating that he had been given instructions about collecting weapons and had received messages while still in Norway telling him to carry out a shooting in the UK.
The intended target has not been publicly identified. Police said Natland was allegedly directed by a person using the name “Agent 47”, an apparent reference to the fictional assassin from the Hitman video game series.
Natland argued that he had not intended to complete the shooting. However, the court concluded that he had accepted the role and continued to pursue the plan despite opportunities to withdraw.
Judge explains the sentence
At Woolwich Crown Court, Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said the absence of a completed killing was significant, but found that the evidence showed Natland would have carried out the agreement if police intervention had not stopped the operation.
The 20-year prison term reflects the seriousness of the conviction, the presence of firearms and ammunition, the cross-border nature of the alleged operation and the potential risk to the unidentified target and the wider public.
Links to the Foxtrot Network
UK Counter Terrorism Policing said Natland had been operating under instructions from an individual connected to the Foxtrot Network, an international criminal organisation based in Sweden. Authorities have associated the network with arms trafficking, shootings and contract killings in Northern Europe.
The network’s alleged activities have attracted attention beyond ordinary organised crime investigations. The United States and the UK have sanctioned the group and its leader, Rawa Majid, according to the information presented in the case.
The US State Department has also said that Iranian authorities have used the Foxtrot Network to support attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in Europe. That broader assessment was cited as part of the security context surrounding the case.
Police found no direct Iranian link in this case
Despite the wider concerns about the network, British counter-terrorism officials said they had found no evidence of a direct link to Iran in Natland’s specific case.
Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said officers arrested Natland shortly before he was expected to carry out the assassination. She also said the intended target had never been established.
Flanagan added that counter-terrorism officers would continue to disrupt attempts by hostile states to use criminal networks for violence in the UK. Her comments referred to the wider threat environment rather than establishing Iranian involvement in this particular plot.
Why the case matters for European security
The conviction highlights how criminal networks can operate across borders, recruit individuals in one country and prepare attacks in another. Natland travelled from Norway to the UK, while the network identified by investigators is based in Sweden. The alleged instructions and communications also crossed national boundaries.
Cases of this kind require cooperation between national police forces, intelligence services, prosecutors and border authorities. They also demonstrate why investigators monitor:
- cross-border weapons movement;
- online recruitment and encrypted communications;
- links between organised crime and politically motivated violence;
- foreign attempts to use criminal intermediaries in Europe; and
- the movement of suspects between European countries.
The case is not an EU decision or a new European Union law. It is a criminal prosecution in England and Wales, with broader relevance to European security cooperation and efforts to counter transnational organised crime.
What happens next?
Natland will serve the sentence imposed by Woolwich Crown Court, subject to the rules governing imprisonment and release in England and Wales. The identity of the alleged target has not been disclosed, and the public information available does not establish whether further prosecutions will follow.
For authorities, the investigation also illustrates the importance of disrupting suspected attacks before violence occurs. The conviction provides a judicial finding against Natland, but it does not by itself establish that every allegation concerning the wider Foxtrot Network is connected to this operation.
Conclusion
The 20-year sentence sends a clear message about the consequences of travelling across borders to carry out an organised killing. The Norwegian teenager’s conviction also underlines the continuing security challenge posed by criminal networks that can connect weapons, online instructions and potential foreign sponsors across Europe. While officials found no direct Iranian link in this case, the investigation remains significant for understanding how the UK and European partners respond to cross-border assassination plots.
