Norwegian Teen Jailed for 20 Years Over Iran-Linked UK Murder Plot
· World · The Independent, BBC News
Johannes Kongsnes Natland, a 19-year-old Norwegian footballer, was sentenced to 20 years in prison at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday for conspiring to murder an unspecified target in England. Operating on behalf of an international crime syndicate backed by Iran, Natland traveled to the UK in March 2025 after agreeing to carry out the killing for €25,000. Armed police arrested him at a hotel in Huddersfield two days after his arrival from Stavanger, seizing two firearms and 12 live bullets. Jurors rejected his defense claims that he intended to shoot himself to escape the assignment, noting he had lied repeatedly to investigators and attempted to obstruct justice from prison.
Why it matters
The conviction exposes the use of foreign proxies and transnational criminal networks by state actors to conduct targeted operations on British soil.
Read the original report — The Independent
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