Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, was sentenced to 20 years in detention for conspiring to commit murder after travelling to Britain to carry out a contract killing for €25,000.
Natland travelled from his home in Stavanger, Norway, to the United Kingdom in March 2025 to carry out the contract killing. Two days after arriving, armed police arrested him at a hotel in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, before he could carry out the planned attack.
Police images released in the UK show Natland’s arrest as part of the investigation into the murder plot.
Prosecutors said Natland had been offered €25,000, equivalent to about $28,000, to carry out the killing.
The case has drawn attention to the recruitment of young people by organised criminal groups to carry out violent attacks across national borders.
Foxtrot is one of Sweden’s most notorious criminal networks and has been linked to serious violence, including shootings and contract killings. “The Foxtrot network emerged in the late 2010s under the leadership of Rawa Majid and has since been linked to drug trafficking, shootings and other violent crimes in Sweden, with its activities extending beyond the country’s borders.”
The group’s wanted leader, Rawa Majid, has been reported to have alleged links to Tehran, although the nature of those links remains a matter of allegation.
Natland’s sentence highlights the serious legal consequences of participating in a murder conspiracy and growing concerns about the use of young recruits in organised crime.
