UK COURT JAILS JOHANNES KONGSNES NATLAND FOR MURDER PLOT

A UK court sentenced Johannes Kongsnes Natland to 20 years’ detention on Friday after convicting him of conspiracy to murder. Prosecutors said Natland travelled from Stavanger, Norway, to England in March 2025 to shoot an unidentified person for €25,000. Armed police arrested him two days after his arrival at the Briar Court hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Officers seized a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, 12 rounds of live ammunition and gloves. No one was harmed.

The court heard that a teenager known as Generalen recruited Natland for the Swedish Foxtrot crime group, which authorities link to Iran. An English-speaking figure known as Agent 47 directed him; investigators have not established that person’s identity or whereabouts. Border Force officers stopped Natland when he arrived in Manchester on a temporary passport and told him to return for a flight home. Instead, he took a taxi to Huddersfield, collected the weapons and £2,000 in cash, and received directions to a stolen Nissan with false number plates. At the hotel, he photographed the guns and cash and told his girlfriend he had the “bangs in the bag”.

Natland admitted possessing the firearms and ammunition but denied intending to kill anyone. He said he planned to shoot himself in the foot to escape the situation. The judge said the evidence showed Natland continued with the plan after opportunities to withdraw. The intended target remains unidentified.