Footballer hitman snared at UK lodge tried to shoot cops with palms in simply his pants
Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, was recruited in Norway to travel to England and kill an unidentified target for the Iran-backed Foxtrot Network international crime gang
Natland pretended to shoot cops with his hands when they found him(Image: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)
A teenage hitman from Norway has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for planning a murder on UK soil on behalf of an Iran-backed international crime syndicate.
Promising footballer Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, consented to assassinate an unidentified target for 25,000 euros (£21,500) in March last year. Just two days after landing in the UK from his home in Stavanger, armed police apprehended him at a hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, confiscating two firearms and 12 live rounds.
Natland admitted possessing the firearms and ammunition but claimed he would have shot himself in the foot to get out of the “pickle” he was in. He was found guilty of conspiracy to murder and sentenced to 20 years detention on Friday.
Natland has been put behind bars(Image: Metropolitan Police/the Press Association)
During the televised sentencing at Woolwich Crown Court, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb stated: “You were recruited in Norway to travel to England and kill an unidentified target. You agreed to be the enforcer and pursued it, despite numerous opportunities to extricate yourself.
“Although the fact that no one was shot dead or physically harmed is important, I am sure had the intervention of the police not prevented the plan from proceeding, you would have done what you had agreed to.”
She noted that messages he sent displayed “not only participation but at points excitement” about his planned actions. The court was told that Natland was enlisted by another teenager known as “Generalen”, who was operating for the banned Swedish Foxtrot gang.
One of Johannes Kongsnes Natland’s guns(Image: Metropolitan Police / SWNS)
The gang, supported by the Iranian regime, is notorious for using children as young as 13 in drug trafficking and violent crimes. Natland was under the command of an English-speaking boss known as Agent 47, a moniker seemingly inspired by the Hitman gaming and film franchise.
Under Agent 47’s direct orders, Natland boarded a flight from Stavanger to Manchester Airport on a temporary passport on March 17 last year. Upon arrival, he was intercepted by Border Force officials in Manchester who released him on bail to return to the airport for the next direct flight home.
However, he took a detour to Huddersfield via taxi where he collected £2,000 in cash, two firearms and ammunition, and was directed to a stolen Nissan fitted with false plates for use in the planned murder. From his room at the Briar Court Hotel, Natland boasted to his girlfriend that he had the “bangs in the bag”, even taking selfies with the guns and cash spread out on his bed.
Natland, 19, paying with cash at Briar Court(Image: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)
At 5.15am the following day, armed police stormed the teenager’s hotel room to apprehend him. A grinning Natland emerged wearing only his boxer shorts, mockingly pretending to shoot one of the officers with his bare hands. During a search of his room, police confiscated a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, 12 rounds of live ammunition, gloves and £2,000 in cash.
During his trial, one of Natland’s footballer friends testified about him mentioning the “Swedish Foxes” and ominously stating: “I’m going to get a lot of money and somebody is going to die.” Before departing for the UK, Natland confided in his girlfriend, sending her a message that read: “I’m going on crazy mission.”
She revealed that he had told her: “Now I can finally kill someone and it’s perfect as I get money to do it. I can kill someone and life will be wonderful.” While testifying, Natland admitted that he wanted to appear “cool” to his friends but claimed it was all just “bravado”, confessing that internally he was “terrified”.
Natland admitted possessing the firearms and ammunition(Image: Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)
He explained to the jury: “I wasn’t an international assassin. I thought people had this impression and expected me to be this guy. I knew I wasn’t.” Despite having a supportive family, Natland’s life spiralled out of control after he developed a drug addiction, leading to stints in rehab and a care home, he shared.
Natland’s recruiter, a 17-year-old known as “Generalen”, was found guilty in Norway of attempting to “contribute to murder” in May of the previous year. Paul Hynes KC, defending, emphasised Natland’s youth at the time of the offence, describing him as “a young, popular, successful student and sportsman” who went “off the rails” after he began using drugs.
He stated that his client has transformed and is no longer the same young man who received a message asking: “Is anyone up for murder for money?”. Mr Hynes contended that Natland does not pose a threat in the future, asserting: “This whole experience can only be a chastening, humbling and frightening one. He has on any view learned his lesson.”
Norwegian police have charged three more individuals, with prosecutors yet to decide whether to “indict” them. In September 2025, a 27-year-old man was apprehended on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and has since been released under investigation.
Two men, aged 30 and 27, were taken into custody in Bradford on May 20 on suspicion of handling stolen goods related to a car. They have been released on bail. The identity and location of Agent 47 remain a mystery.
Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing (CTP) London, praised the “exceptional work” of British police in collaboration with their Norwegian counterparts for the arrest of Natland just hours before he was set to carry out an assassination.
“Natland was clearly being directed by someone in the Foxtrot Network, an organised criminal group sanctioned by the UK and the US due to its involvement in orchestrating violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.
“The intended target of this specific assassination has never been identified, and we found no evidence of any direct link to Iran in this case. However, as recent events have shown, CTP will seek to proactively disrupt any attempts by hostile states to carry out criminal acts in the UK.”
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