London: A Norwegian teenager convicted of travelling to the UK to carry out a contract killing on behalf of an international crime gang linked to Iran was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday.
Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, was found guilty in July of conspiracy to murder after agreeing to shoot an unidentified target for €25,000 last year. He was arrested at a hotel in Huddersfield, northern England, two days after arriving in the UK, with two guns and ammunition.
The intended target has not been identified.
Natland, who was working part-time at a pizza restaurant when he was arrested, was recruited by a Swedish organised crime group known as the Foxtrot Network while playing an online game. Counter-terrorism officers from London's Metropolitan Police said the group had links to the Iranian government.
Natland admitted possessing the firearms and ammunition but claimed he did not intend to carry out the plan.
“You agreed to be the enforcer and pursued it, despite numerous opportunities to extricate yourself,” Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said during his sentencing hearing at Woolwich Crown Court in south-east London.
“Although the fact that no one was shot dead or physically harmed is important, 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 had been recruited by a 17-year-old known as 'Generalen'. A court in Norway convicted the teenager last year of attempting to 'contribute to murder' and sentenced him to 14 years in custody. A 16-year-old is awaiting trial in Norway for his role in the conspiracy.
The UK government announced sanctions against the Foxtrot Network and its leader last year over their alleged involvement in violence against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.
The sanctions include an asset freeze that prevents UK businesses from handling funds or other economic assets controlled by the organisation.