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Norwegian teenager convicted for his role in murder-for-hire ordered by Iran-linked crime gang
A jury found Johannes Kongsnes Natland guilty after prosecutors said he took £21,500 to kill an unknown target for the Foxtrot Network.
- On Wednesday, an Old Bailey jury convicted 19-year-old footballer Johannes Kongsnes Natland of conspiracy to murder following a retrial, finding he traveled to England to carry out a 'hit' for an Iran-linked criminal network.
- Recruited by the Swedish Foxtrot gang backed by the Iranian regime and linked to at least 30 murders, Natland was enlisted by a 17-year-old known as Generalen to kill for £21,500, even after learning Generalen had been arrested for conspiracy to murder.
- Under direction of an English-speaking handler called Agent 47, Natland flew from Stavanger, Norway to Manchester on March 17 last year, then traveled to Huddersfield where he acquired two guns, 12 live bullets, and £2,000 in cash before armed police arrested him at the Briar Court Hotel.
- Natland told jurors he initially thought the plan was a 'joke' or 'scam' and only continued because he was in a 'pickle' with the gang, though prosecutors presented evidence he had lied repeatedly and never mentioned being scared before trial, leading Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb to remand him into custody pending autumn sentencing.
- Frank Ferguson of the Crown Prosecution Service said the conviction 'sends a clear message: if you come to this country to commit serious violence on behalf of organised criminals, you will be caught,' after the Old Bailey jury deliberated 17 hours and six minutes before reaching the guilty verdict.
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47 Articles
47 Articles
Johannes Kongsnes Natland was arrested in March 2025 at a hotel in England with a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and 19 bullets in his possession - It has not yet been clarified who he intended to kill.
·Marousi, Greece
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A 19-year-old Norwegian, recruited by a criminal network supported by Iran, was found guilty on Wednesday of plotting to commit an assassination on British territory, the London police announced.
·Bucharest, Romania
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He was willing to kill for 25,000 euros: in London, a 19-year-old was convicted of planning a murder. His client was probably a Swedish network operating on behalf of Iran.
·Hamburg, Germany
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources47
Leaning Left14Leaning Right7Center15Last UpdatedBias Distribution42% Center
Bias Distribution
- 42% of the sources are Center
42% Center
L 39%
C 42%
R 19%
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