A 19-year-old Norwegian footballer has been jailed for 20 years after traveling to the UK to carry out a contract killing for an Iran-backed crime gang. Johannes Kongsnes Natland was sentenced on Friday at Woolwich Crown Court for conspiracy to murder.
The case highlights a disturbing trend of international syndicates recruiting vulnerable young people for violent work. Natland, a talented student and sportsman from Stavanger, was lured into the plot by a peer known as “Generalen,” who worked for the Swedish Foxtrot gang. This organization is notorious for exploiting minors as young as 13 in drug smuggling and violence.
Armed and ready
Natland flew into Manchester in March last year on a temporary passport. Border Force officials stopped him and bailed him to return to the airport for a flight home. He ignored the instructions. Instead, he took a taxi to Huddersfield in West Yorkshire. There, he booked into the Briar Court hotel and collected two guns, 12 rounds of live ammunition, gloves, and £2,000 in cash. He also secured a stolen Nissan with false number plates, intended for the assassination.
“Bangs in the bag”
Armed police raided the hotel at 5:15 am two days after his arrival. Officers found Natland in possession of a semi-automatic pistol and a revolver. Before the arrest, he had taken selfies with the weapons and cash spread out on his bed. He even bragged to his girlfriend that he had the “bangs in the bag.”
Natland admitted to possessing the firearms but claimed he intended to shoot himself in the foot to escape the situation. Prosecutors rejected this defense. They argued that his messages to handlers showed excitement and active participation in the plot. He was controlled by an English-speaking boss known only as “Agent 47,” a name that appears to reference the Hitman video game franchise. The identity and location of Agent 47 remain unknown.
Justice served
Defending counsel Paul Hynes KC described Natland as a “young, popular, successful student” who went “off the rails” due to drug addiction. Natland himself told 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.”
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb was unmoved. She noted that while no one was physically harmed, Natland had pursued the contract despite numerous opportunities to back out. “You agreed to be the enforcer and pursued it,” she said. “I am sure, had the intervention of the police not prevented the plan from proceeding, you would have done what you had agreed to.”
Natland will serve his 20-year sentence in a UK prison. The case underscores the reach of transnational criminal networks and their willingness to use social engineering to recruit young, impressionable targets across borders.
Source: Guardian World
This article was compiled by the IndiaBBCNews editorial system from verified international news sources. Facts have been independently reviewed. Original reporting: Guardian World.
