Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, travelled to Britain in March 2025 to shoot the unknown target for EUR25,000 (£21,500). However, police arrested him at a northern England hotel before he could carry out the hit.
Officers found two firearms and live bullets in a plastic bag stashed under his hotel room bed, which he had collected from a nearby wooded area.
The wannabe hitman had been tasked by the Swedish-based Foxtrot organised crime group, which the UK government has sanctioned and has been tied to criminality on behalf of Iran, according to London’s Metropolitan Police.
Its reputed and wanted leader Rawa Majid, who has alleged ties to Tehran, formed the network which has been connected to dozens of violent crimes in Sweden in the late 2010s.
Jurors at London’s Old Bailey court found Natland guilty of conspiracy to commit murder after deliberating for around 17 hours, following a two-week retrial.
The teenager, who blinked but gave no other reaction in the dock as the jury delivered its verdict, had previously admitted possessing the firearms and ammunition but had denied the conspiracy charge.
He was remanded him in custody ahead of sentencing in October.
Giving evidence, Natland claimed he had not intended to carry out the killing but was instead planning to “shoot himself in the foot,” to avoid repercussions if he had refused the mission.
But jurors heard from prosecutors that he had lied repeatedly following his arrest and even tried to persuade his girlfriend not to give evidence in phone calls from prison.
The Met’s counter-terrorism unit conducted the investigation, uncovering social media messages showing someone with the username “Agent 47” had instructed him.
Natland sent messages to his friends back in Norway, including pictures of the guns, police revealed.
Asked by a friend if he had “tested the weapons,” the teenager replied: “Hell no. They will be tested on the guy.”
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of the Met’s counter-terror unit, hailed the “international law enforcement” effort behind the probe, which she noted remained ongoing.
Natland’s recruiter, a 17-year-old youth, was convicted in Norway of attempting to “contribute to murder” in May last year.
Three more people have been charged by Norwegian police with a decision yet to be taken by prosecutors whether to indict them. (AFP)
