Chilling moment teenage ‘hitman’ sent to UK on 'shooting' murder plot backed by Iran is caught by police
A teenage hitman who answered to a crime boss dubbed 'Agent 47' had travelled to England to carry out a killing on behalf of an international gang backed by Iran.
Police footage has now revealed the moment baby-faced Johannes Kongsnes Natland, aged 19, was dragged out of a hotel in Huddersfield while topless before imitating shooting officers.
The teenager had agreed to shoot an unknown target for 25,000 euros (£21,500) in March of last year and was being controlled by an 'agent' who is yet to be found. Two days after arriving in the UK on a flight from his home in Stavanger, armed police then swooped to arrest him at the hotel where they seized two guns and 12 live bullets.
In court, Natland admitted to possessing the firearms and ammunition but claimed he would have shot himself in the foot to get out of the 'pickle' he was in. Jurors were told of how he lied repeatedly following his arrest and tried to persuade his girlfriend not to give evidence in phone calls from prison.
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Natland’s recruiter, a 17-year-old youth known as 'Generalen', was convicted in Norway of attempting to 'contribute to murder' in May last year. He was working for the proscribed 'Swedish Foxtrot gang' which is backed by the Iranian regime and known for deploying children as young as 13 in drug smuggling and violent crimes.
He brought Natland in on the plot after another recruit backed out, and was being controlled by an English-speaking boss called 'Agent 47', which appeared to be a link to the Hitman franchise. Three others have been charged by Norwegian police with a decision yet to be taken by prosecutors on whether to indict them.
Natland was on his way to the UK when he heard via a group chat that Generalen had been arrested for conspiracy to murder, but then carried on anyway.
Under Agent 47’s direction, the teenager took a flight from his home in Stavanger in Norway to Manchester Airport on a temporary passport in March last year, but was stopped by Border Force officials who bailed him to return to the airport to catch the next direct flight home. The true identity and whereabouts of Natland’s English-speaking controller still remains unknown.
But he instead was able to get a taxi to Huddersfield where he picked up £2,000 in cash, two guns and bullets and directed to a stolen Nissan with false plates to be used in the killing. When in his room, he told his girlfriend he had got the 'bangs in the bag' and took selfies with the guns and cash spread on his bed.
On the eve of the planned shooting, Agent 47 warned him: “We have much to do tomorrow", but within hours, the police raided the hotel and arrested the 19-year-old over the plot.
Wearing only boxer shorts, a smiling Natland emerged and pretended to shoot one of the officers with his empty hands. Police then seized a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, 12 rounds of live ammunition, gloves, and £2,000 in cash from the room.
Natland had also confided in his girlfriend, saying in a message: “I’m going on crazy mission.” According to her, he said: “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.”
"I wasn't an international assassin... I was terrified"
Giving evidence, Natland said he wanted to look 'cool' to his peers but was actually 'terrified'. He told jurors: “I wasn’t an international assassin. I thought people had this impression and expected me to be this guy. I knew I wasn’t.”
Court heard how his life went downhill after getting hooked on drugs and he was placed in rehab and a care home. He initially agreed to the plan to shoot someone in England for money to pay for drugs, thinking it was a 'scam', he said, before realising he was in a 'pickle' with the Swedish Foxtrot gang.
He told jurors: “I was going to look like an idiot but desperate times call for desperate measures."
Prosecutor Alistair Richardson said: “The reality is the defendant is a troubled but dangerous young man. A young man who agreed to kill in a foreign country for money.”
An Old Bailey jury deliberated for 17 hours and six minutes to find him guilty of conspiracy to murder following a retrial. Natland blinked but gave no other reaction in the dock as the jury delivered its verdict. He was remanded into custody to be sentenced on a date to be fixed in the autumn.
'Calculated' plan to kill for money
Frank Ferguson, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was a calculated plan to kill for money. This case shows how organised crime networks operate across borders and exploit young people to carry out serious violence.
“Thanks to swift and coordinated police work, this plot was stopped before anyone was harmed. This conviction sends a clear message: if you come to this country to commit serious violence on behalf of organised criminals, you will be caught and we will make sure you are brought to justice.”
Meanwhile, Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said: “This investigation highlights the importance of the strong links with our international law enforcement partners to counter the very real threat of criminal organisations across European borders. We’ve worked particularly closely with colleagues from Norwegian law enforcement authorities and as a result, we have stopped somebody from being assassinated here in the UK.
“Our investigation, which remains ongoing, has also resulted in two lethal weapons and ammunition being taken out of criminal hands and off the streets of the UK which has undoubtedly made the public safer.”
In September 2025, a 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder and has been released under investigation. Two men, aged 30 and 27, were arrested in Bradford on May 20 on suspicion of handling stolen goods relating to a car. They were subsequently released on bail.
Topics: Crime, News, UK News, World News
James Holt