A teenage Norwegian hitman has been jailed for 20 years after plotting to assassinate a target in the UK on behalf of an Iran-backed gang.
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hitman → jail → gang
Johannes Natland, 18 at the time, flew from Stavanger, south-west Norway, to Britain to kill a target in return for £21,000, a trial heard.
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trial → fly → 21,000
He was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on March 19 last year, hours before he was due to carry out the hit.
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he → arrest → hit
Police found a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and 12 rounds of ammunition in his possession, as well as £2,000 in cash.
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Police → find → cash
He was convicted of conspiracy to murder following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey.
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He → convict → Bailey
Sentencing, judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told Natland: 'You were recruited in Norway to travel to England to kill an unidentified target.
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You → sentence → target
Johannes Natland, 19, travelled from the oil-rich town of Stavanger, south-west Norway, to assassinate a target in the UK 'in return for money', the Old Bailey was told
'
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Bailey → travel → money
Although the fact no one was shot dead, or physically harmed is important, I am sure had the intervention of police not prevented the plan from proceeding you would've done what you had agreed to.'
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you → shoot → what
The court heard how the murder plot was hatched by a Swedish gang called the Foxtrot Network, a ruthless organised crime group used by the Iranian regime.
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plot → hear → regime
The UK sanctioned Foxtrot in April last year for their involvement in violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe.
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UK → sanction → Europe
Natland became involved in the Huddersfield plot when he received a message on Signal about a 'murder in England' from a user called 'Unknown Hustler', the Old Bailey was told.
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Bailey → become → user
Natland – who is now 19 – was then added to a group chat with a Norwegian recruiter and a senior Foxtrot recruiter, Swedish-Iraqi gangster Ali Shehab, 22, known as 'Agent 47' – a name taken from the video game Hitman.
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who → add → game
The jury was not told that Shehab is a close ally of Foxtrot boss Rawa Majid, who allegedly struck a deal with Iran to target the state's enemies abroad.
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who → tell → enemies
Under Shehab's instructions, Natland flew from Stavanger to Manchester on March 17, the court heard.
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court → fly → March
He was questioned by suspicious Border Force officials and ultimately refused entry to the UK but was told to return to the airport for a flight home four days later.
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He → question → flight
This meant Natland was free to enter the country and he took a taxi to a hotel in Manchester.
The following day, he was directed by his recruiters to a wood in Huddersfield to collect the guns and ammunition.
After checking in at a nearby hotel, he messaged his girlfriend to say: 'In the bag is bang'.
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bang → mean → bag
At 10.39pm that evening a friend asked Natland: 'U dun it?' and he replied: 'No. tomorrow.'
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he → ask → it
But at 5.15am on March 19, firearms officers arrested him in his room at the Briar Court Hotel in Huddersfield.
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officers → arrest → Huddersfield
He came to the door with his hands up, imitating holding a firearm, and pretended to shoot one of the officers.
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hands → come → officers
Natland admitted possession of the firearms but denied conspiracy to murder.
Giving evidence, he said he was 'terrified' and planned to sabotage the plot at the last minute by shooting himself in the foot.
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he → admit → foot
But the prosecution suggested Natland's plan was a 'lie', arguing that he had boasted to his friends about the mission.
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he → suggest → mission
The court heard the teenager also told his then-girlfriend that 'it will be a bit cool to really kill someone'.
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it → hear → someone
Natland, 19, was found guilty of conspiracy to murder following a two-week trial at the Old Bailey.
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Natland → find → Bailey
He had already admitted possession of firearms
Natland was found with £2,000 in cash in his hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
The intended target remains unknown but Natland 'neither knew, nor cared' who he was to murder, the prosecution said.
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prosecution → admit → Huddersfield
Natland was a talented student and footballer before getting hooked on drugs including cannabis, LSD and cocaine.
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Natland → get → cannabis
Jurors heard how Natland – while not quite 'a hitman from a Hollywood movie' – was precisely the type of vulnerable teenager preyed upon by Europe's most menacing gang, the Foxtrot Network.
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Natland → hear → gang
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: 'Natland was clearly being tasked by someone in the Foxtrot Network, an organised criminal group sanctioned by the UK and the US due to its involvement in orchestrating violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.
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Natland → say → regime
The intended target of this specific assassination has never been identified, and we found no evidence of any direct link to Iran in this case.
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we → identify → case
One of the tactics increasingly used by foreign states seeking to cause harm to the UK is the use of criminal proxies.
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One → use → proxies
They often recruit people online with promises of significant financial reward.
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They → recruit → reward
'But the reality is that those carrying out these tasks are viewed as disposable assets by those directing them.
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those → carry → them
They are used when convenient and abandoned when circumstances change.'
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circumstances → use → ?
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