Norwegian teenager found guilty of flying to UK to carry out hit for Iran-backed gang

A teenage hitman has been found guilty of flying from Norway to the UK to murder an unknown target for a gang backed by Iran.

Johannes Natland, 19, was offered €25,000 by the Sweden-based Foxtrot network and directed to stashes of cash, guns and bullets by a fixer in the UK, a court was told.

He was recruited days before he was arrested by armed counter-terrorism police at a hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on 19 March last year with two guns, live bullets and £2,000 in cash.

The group, led by Rawa Majid, known as the Kurdish Fox, has been sanctioned in the US and the UK over its involvement with violence against Jewish and Israeli targets across Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.

They advertise violent assignments on social media apps, such as Snapchat, Telegram and Signal, targeting children as young as 12 in groups with thousands of members with names like "Samurai kids".

Natland's mother, who does not want to be named or pictured, told Sky News they had been a "happy family" of five and her son "a very happy person", who was "surrounded by friends" and "extremely devoted to football" before his mental health deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"He started to experiment with drugs. He was still our lovely boy. He never became a violent boy, he's never robbed anyone, he has no criminal record, but he was suffering from his own diseases and from his loneliness," she said.

The Old Bailey heard Natland was first put in touch with a member of the gang by a boy he met in a care home and was passed on to a recruiter using the online alias Generalen, another teenager from the same city as Natland.

Generalen, who we are not naming because he is under 18, has been convicted and jailed in Norway over his involvement in the plot - as well as two murders in Sweden and two other attempted murders.

He was acting for a higher-level recruiter, "Agent 47" - named after a character in the Hitman videogame - who is believed to be Ali Shehab Ahmed, 21, who was arrested in Iraq last year.

In messages shown to jurors, Agent 47 told Generalen: "Brother, sort an assassin abroad. Urgent. Europe."

Generalen asked: "How much is in the pot?" and Agent 47 replied: "25k euro."

In a message on 15 March last year, Natland asked Generalen, "Who is to be shot?" before telling his girlfriend he was "going on a crazy mission".

Natland flew into Manchester Airport on 17 March last year, when he was aged just 18 on a temporary passport because his had expired.

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He was questioned by Border Force officers - telling them he was meeting online gaming friends - and initially refused entry to the UK - but released on bail before the next flight back on 21 March.

Natland took a taxi to a hotel in Manchester and, the following day, Agent 47 put him in touch with a facilitator in the UK, known as "1", who directed him to a stash of cash hidden under a bridge.

He used the money to pay for a room for three nights at the Briar Court Hotel before being sent another video and map showing the route to the base of a tree, where he picked up the guns and ammunition.

On 18 March, he bought three pairs of workman-style black and orange gloves which he wore to handle the weapons - an antique pistol, a semi-automatic handgun and 12 live bullets.

He was also sent the location of a stolen car, while Agent 47 told him: "We have much to do tomorrow."

When armed police knocked on Natland's hotel room door early the next day, he pointed an imaginary gun and pretended to shoot officers.

He admitted possession of the two guns and ammunition but denied conspiracy to murder.

Natland faced a retrial after the first jury failed to agree on a verdict.

'I know my son could never kill anyone'

His mother told Sky: "I know that my son could never kill anyone. He's just not got it, he's not that kind of person, it's totally out of character.

"He's never shown any way of being that should make him a hitman or a killer... It would never happen. No one knows him better than I do.

"I've been very close to my son and the other children in their childhood. I know all their friends. I've been at every football match. I know him, he is not that person."

Natland, who blew kisses from the dock to his parents in the public gallery, said he initially thought the planned hit was a "joke", then thought he or his family may be killed if he backed out.

"When I realised this is real and these guys are expecting me to go to England and shoot someone, I'm in a bit of a pickle," he said.

He said he planned to instead shoot himself in the foot, insisting: "I'm not no cold-blooded professional hitman."

Natland's mother said prosecutors had portrayed her son as a "monster" but she believes he is a victim of "human trafficking", adding: "When it can happen to us, it can happen to anyone."

(c) Sky News 2026: Norwegian teenager found guilty of flying to UK to carry out hit for Iran-backed gang