Norway Teen Flew to UK for Alleged Contract Killing, Court Hears

A Norwegian teenager accused of travelling to Britain to carry out a contract killing has appeared before the Old Bailey. 

Prosecutors allege he was recruited by a Swedish organised crime group linked to Iran. Johannes Natland, 19, was arrested in Huddersfield in March 2025 after police found two loaded firearms and 19 rounds of ammunition in his hotel room. He has admitted possessing the weapons but denies conspiring to commit murder.

Opening the case, prosecutor Alistair Richardson told jurors that Natland had been recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organised crime group that prosecutors say has links to the Iranian regime. Richardson said investigators do not know who Natland was intending to kill, but argued that his messages showed he had agreed to carry out a murder for payment. 

"We do not know who the defendant was planning to murder," Richardson said. "But his own messages make clear that his plan was to murder. He neither knew, nor cared, who he was to kill. To him, this was all about the money."

Jurors were shown encrypted messages between users identified as "Agent 47" and "Generalen". In one exchange, Agent 47 wrote: "Brother, sort out an assassin abroad. Urgent. Europe," adding that €25,000 was available for the job. Natland later sent a message asking, "Who is to be shot?" He also told his girlfriend he was travelling to England on a "crazy mission", adding: "Wish me luck, I hope it's not a scam."

Natland flew from Stavanger to Manchester on 17 March. Border Force officers initially refused him entry because he had no confirmed accommodation, no return ticket and very little money. He was later granted temporary admission until a flight back to Norway four days later. 

Instead, prosecutors say he travelled to Huddersfield, where he checked into the Briar Court Hotel after receiving instructions from Agent 47. After collecting the firearms, he received a message stating: "We have much to do tomorrow."

Specialist firearms officers arrested Natland in the early hours of 19 March. Prosecutors said that as officers entered his hotel room, he raised his hands and pretended to fire a gun at one of them. Richardson told the court this behaviour provided "a little insight" into Natland's intentions while he was in the UK.

The prosecution says the case involves the Foxtrot Network, a Scandinavian organised crime group alleged to have recruited Natland to carry out a killing in Britain. Prosecutors also allege the group has links to the Iranian regime.

The trial continues at the Old Bailey.