Norwegian Teen Hired by Iran-Linked Crime Network to Commit UK Murder, Say Prosecutors

A Norwegian teenager was recruited by a Swedish organized crime group linked to the Iranian regime to carry out a murder in Britain, a prosecutor told a jury on the first day of a trial in London.

Prosecutor Alistair Richardson KC said during the trial at the Old Bailey in London on June 3 that Johannes Natland, who was 18 at the time, was found in possession of two handguns and 17 bullets when he was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield, in the north of England, on March 19, 2025.

Natland, who is now 19 and comes from the city of Stavanger, has admitted to possession of the firearms but denies conspiracy to murder.

“The Foxtrot Network is a Swedish-based criminal network backed by the Iranian regime,” Richardson said, adding that the network is “engaged in smuggling of narcotics and violent crimes.”

He said they advertised “violent assignments” in group chats on applications such as Snapchat, Telegram, and Signal.

Prosecutor: Foxtrot Uses Young ‘Perpetrators’

“They often use ‘perpetrators’ who are very young, and with whom they have no direct link,” Richardson said. “The use of social media has enabled the rapid increase of cross-border crime. The groups used by the Swedish Foxes can have anything from a few to several thousand members, with group names such as ‘Samurai Children.'”

The prosecutor said of Natland, “In ​return for money, he would travel here and undertake a ‘hit.'”

Richardson then read out a number of excerpts from social media messages that are part of the evidence the prosecution will use to try to prove the conspiracy to murder charge.

In one, an individual known as Junger tells a person called Agent 47: “Stavanger is a warrior city ha-ha. We are getting assassin after assassin from there haha.”

Richardson said there were several levels of individuals in the network. At the top were “instigators,” who were usually based overseas.

“Their role is to commission and finance violent crimes, to be carried out in Sweden or other countries,” he said. “That role, you may think, fits with Agent 47.”

Richardson said that below them were “recruiters” and “facilitators” and then “enforcers,” who he said are “the young men at the bottom of the chain, rarely with any geographical connection to the location where the crime is to be carried out.”

He said that for Natland, who the target was and why he was to kill the target was “entirely immaterial.”

“It was purely and simply about the money,” Richardson said.

Natland Referred to ‘Crazy Mission’

Richardson said that at one point, Natland told his girlfriend he was going on a “crazy mission” and had “wild information to share.” He also said he was going to England.

But the prosecutor said that when Natland arrived on a flight from Stavanger on March 17, 2025, he was stopped by UK Border Force officers at Manchester airport and asked the purpose of his visit.

He said he was coming to visit friends he had met while playing online games.

Eventually, the Border Force officers refused him entry to the country but bailed him to return to the airport for a flight back to Stavanger on March 21.

Richardson said Natland then followed instructions from Agent 47 and traveled to Huddersfield, a town in Yorkshire, where he allegedly collected some cash and the two guns.

The prosecutor said Natland then messaged his girlfriend, “In the bag is the bang.”

A stolen car was also allegedly supplied for Natland’s use during the murder attempt.

At 9:21 p.m. on March 19, Agent 47 messaged Natland, saying, “We have much to do tomorrow.”

The prosecutor said someone then texted Natland, asking, “Have you tested the weapons?”

“Hell no. They will be tested on the guy,” he replied.

Richardson told the jury that that message made it clear what he had planned.

“He had signed up, and intended, to commit murder, he had collected two firearms, 17 rounds of ammunition, and was intending to use them to commit the murder they had agreed upon the following day,” the prosecutor said.

In the early hours of March 19, Natland messaged Agent 47, “How does it work with the money.”

Agent 47 replied that he would get his money “when the job is done.”

But at 5:15 a.m., armed officers arrested Natland at the Briar Court Hotel in Huddersfield, where they found the guns and the bullets.

The Foxtrot Network—and its fugitive leader, Rawa Majid, known as The Kurdish Fox—has been sanctioned by the governments of both the UK and the United States.

The Epoch Times reached out to Natland’s barrister, Paul Hynes KC, for comment but did not receive a response.