Updated

Updated · CNN · Jul 29

Johannes Natland Convicted in UK 25,000-Euro Murder Plot for Iran-Linked Foxtrot Network

Updated

Updated · CNN · Jul 29

Johannes Natland Convicted in UK 25,000-Euro Murder Plot for Iran-Linked Foxtrot Network

Q: Who was the mysterious target waiting in Huddersfield, and how did a teenage hitman's selfie unravel an international assassination plot?

The intended target in Huddersfield has not been publicly identified. Prosecutors told the Old Bailey they did not know who Natland was planning to kill, and the court heard that he himself may not have known either, only that he had been sent to Britain to carry out a paid shooting for the Foxtrot Network. What unraveled the plot was a chain of digital evidence, capped by Natland’s own behavior. The key breakthrough came when Norwegian police arrested the teenage recruiter known as “Generalen” and found Signal messages discussing the UK attack. Those messages showed Foxtrot operatives, including a handler using the alias “Agent 47,” urgently seeking “an assassin abroad” for a job in “Great Britain” with €25,000 on offer. That intelligence gave authorities time to track Natland after he flew from Stavanger to Manchester on an emergency passport, then traveled to Huddersfield, where he collected hidden cash, guns and access to a stolen car. His own communications reinforced the case: he asked in a chat, “Who is to be shot?”, told his girlfriend he was going to England to “shoot someone” for money, and sent her a smiling selfie holding a gun with a message indicating the attack was imminent. By the time armed officers raided his hotel room at the Briar Court Hotel, police had a detailed picture of a cross-border murder-for-hire operation built through encrypted messages, travel records, surveillance and Natland’s incriminating selfie.

3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jul 29

A London jury convicted 19-year-old Norwegian Johannes Kongsnes Natland of conspiracy to murder after finding he traveled to Britain to carry out a paid killing.
Prosecutors said Natland agreed to shoot an unidentified target for 25,000 euros, then was arrested in a Huddersfield hotel two days after arriving with two guns and ammunition.
Messages to his girlfriend helped underpin the case: he said he was going on a "crazy mission," later wrote "in the bag is bang," and sent a selfie holding a firearm.
Counterterrorism police said Natland was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish gang linked to Iran; Britain sanctioned the group last year over attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe.
The case also stretches across Norway, where Natland was already sentenced to 14 years for attempting to contribute to murder, while a 16-year-old alleged accomplice still awaits trial.

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CNN26d ago

Norwegian Teen Johannes Natland Convicted in UK Contract Killing Plot for Iran-Linked Gang

bbc.co.uk26d ago

Norwegian Teen Johannes Natland Guilty of UK Murder Plot for Foxtrot Network

The Times26d ago

How Norwegian teen was recruited by Iran-linked gang for UK assassination

10 Sources

Who was the mysterious target waiting in Huddersfield, and how did a teenage hitman's selfie unravel an international assassination plot?

How is the chilling rise of violence-as-a-service turning disposable teenagers into cross-border assassins for sanctioned international crime syndicates?

Can international taskforces truly dismantle decentralized digital murder networks, or is the gig economy of contract killing already unstoppable?