Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, from Stavanger, Norway, was convicted at the Old Bailey of conspiracy to murder following a retrial. A jury deliberated for 17 hours and six minutes before reaching their verdict. He is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
Natland had agreed to shoot an unidentified individual in exchange for €25,000 (£21,500) in March last year. Upon arriving in the United Kingdom, armed police apprehended him in a hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, two days after his arrival. Officers seized two firearms and ammunition from the location. Authorities determined that Natland had traveled to Manchester Airport on a temporary passport and later made his way to Huddersfield, where he collected cash, weapons, and a vehicle with fraudulent registration.
The defendant was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organised crime group with reported connections to the Iranian government. Natland claimed he initially viewed the arrangement as a joke or scam and agreed primarily to fund drug purchases. He maintained that he had planned to avoid executing the assassination by injuring himself, though prosecutors contended he was a troubled but dangerous individual who knowingly agreed to commit murder for financial gain. The intended victim’s identity has never been disclosed.
According to police counter-terrorism officers, substantial evidence demonstrated Natland’s awareness of the assassination plot. Communications revealed to the court included messages to his girlfriend suggesting excitement about the prospect. Natland later attempted to discourage his girlfriend from providing testimony during phone calls made from custody. The Foxtrot Network, despite numerous arrests in recent years, remains the predominant gang in Sweden and is believed responsible for significant gang violence across the country. Several key leadership figures, including the gang’s leader, remain at large.
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