Norwegian teen sentenced to 20 years for UK murder plot tied to Iran-linked group

A Norwegian teenager who planned to commit murder in Britain after ​being recruited by a Swedish organised ‌crime group linked to the Iranian government was on Friday sentenced to 20 years’ detention. Johannes Natland, ​now 19, was arrested in a ​hotel room in Huddersfield, northern England, ⁠in March 2025 with two firearms and ​ammunition in his possession. Natland was recruited by ​the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organised crime group used by the Iranian state and sanctioned by ​both Britain and the United States, ​prosecutors said. He admitted possessing a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver ‌and ⁠ammunition, but denied conspiracy to murder and claimed he did not intend to carry out the plan. But he was convicted in ​July after a ​retrial ⁠and was sentenced at London’s Woolwich Crown Court to detention for ​20 years. Natland was the latest ​young ⁠adult to stand trial in Britain and elsewhere over serious criminal acts allegedly carried ⁠out ​after being recruited online ​for money, often as an unwitting proxy for a foreign state.