Norwegian teen sentenced to 20 years for murder plot tied to Iran‑linked crime group

Johannes Natland, an 18‑year‑old from Stavanger, travelled to the United Kingdom after receiving a Signal message offering £21,000 for a murder in England. He was recruited through a group chat that included a Norwegian recruiter and Ali Shehab, a 22‑year‑old Swedish‑Iraqi gang member known as “Agent 47,” who works for the Foxtrot Network, an Iran‑linked organised crime group. After being denied entry at the border, Natland entered on a later flight, collected a semi‑automatic pistol, a revolver, twelve rounds of ammunition and £2,000 in Huddersfield, and was arrested in his hotel room on March 19 hours before the planned attack. At the Old Bailey he was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to murder.