Norwegian teen recruited online by Swedish gang jailed for 20 years over UK murder plot

A Norwegian teenager who travelled to the UK to carry out a murder after being recruited online by a Swedish criminal network has been sentenced to 20 years in custody, with prosecutors saying the group offered young people money to commit violent crimes on behalf of clients.Johannes Natland, now 19, was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organised crime group accused by British and US authorities of carrying out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets on behalf of Iran, according to Reuters.Natland was convicted of conspiracy to murder in July after travelling from Norway to Britain when he was 18. Prosecutors said he had agreed to kill an unnamed target in exchange for 270,000 Norwegian kroner, equivalent to about $28,600.He was sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court in London on Friday. Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said she was satisfied he would have carried out the killing had police not intervened. She said his actions showed planning and persistence rather than a momentary decision.“This was not an impulsive act lasting a few moments ... your conduct demonstrated purpose and persistence,” the judge said. Natland will serve at least 13 years in custody.Prosecutors said Natland responded to an online advert offering money to kill, which assured recruits that “nothing can go wrong”. They also said he told a friend that “it will be cool to kill someone”.Natland admitted possessing a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and ammunition, but denied conspiring to murder. He argued that he had not intended to carry out the plan and had considered shooting himself in the foot to escape it.The case has drawn attention to the recruitment of young people through online platforms to carry out serious crimes. British authorities have warned that some recruits may become proxies for foreign states without fully understanding who is behind the operations.The Foxtrot Network has been linked to several murders across Europe. Britain and the United States have alleged that the group carried out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets on Iran’s behalf, claims Tehran rejects, as per the news agency.However, Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said investigators had found no evidence of a direct Iranian link in Natland’s case. She said the case should serve as a warning to people approached online to carry out crimes for others.“As Natland found, the people orchestrating these crimes will not protect you from the consequences,” Flanagan said.Natland’s Norwegian lawyer, Farid Bouras, said the defence would now seek his return to Norway. “Our priority now is to bring him home. We will be working to secure his transfer to Norway as quickly as we possibly can,” he said.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.