A jury at the Old Bailey has found Johannes Natland, 19, guilty of conspiracy to murder after he was arrested in a Huddersfield hotel with two functioning firearms and 19 rounds of live ammunition. The conviction follows a retrial in which the jury reached a unanimous verdict after just over 17 hours of deliberation.
Evidence and prosecution case
Natland had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to possession of the firearms and ammunition but denied the conspiracy charge. Prosecutors said he travelled to the UK from Norway to carry out a "hit" for a Swedish organised crime group known in court as the Foxtrot Network, which has reportedly been sanctioned by both the UK and the US.
The court heard that Natland arrived at Manchester Airport on 17 March 2025 using an emergency passport and was directed by videos on the encrypted messaging app Signal to Huddersfield, where firearms, a stolen vehicle and a sum of cash had been concealed. During the opening of the retrial, the prosecution described Natland as having been "recruited" by the group.
"I found myself in a major pickle," the defendant told jurors, saying he had planned instead to shoot himself in the foot rather than carry out an attack.
Jurors were also told about the character and operations of the Foxtrot Network, which investigators say has been involved in arranging multiple killings and other violent offences across Scandinavia and beyond.
Cross-border convictions and previous attacks
The trial referenced convictions in Norway and Sweden linked to the same network. A man identified in court as Generalen was convicted in Norway in May this year for his part in the conspiracy and for arranging a number of attempted murders and arsons on behalf of the group. He was also convicted for his involvement in two murders in Sweden.
The court heard the details of those killings. Ahmed Zamzam was shot dead at Lund Central Station on 28 January of last year, and Murad Abdelkader was killed in the Stockholm suburb of Alby less than a month later. At Generalen's trial, he said the wrong man had been targeted in one of the operations and described how he told a gunman to shoot the intended victim multiple times.
Police and security implications
Prosecutors and investigators have highlighted the increasingly organised nature of the network and its use of young people to carry out violent acts, a practice Europol has described as "violence-as-a-service" (VaaS). The case underlines the difficulties in policing transnational organised crime that exploits encrypted communications, cross-border movement and recruitment of vulnerable young people.
- Arrest: Natland detained in Huddersfield hotel, March 2025.
- Weapons found: Two working guns and 19 live rounds.
- Arrival in UK: Manchester Airport, 17 March 2025, on emergency passport.
The trial also drew attention to how organised crime groups can operate across jurisdictions, prompting co‑operation between British and foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The Foxtrot Network has been publicly sanctioned because of its alleged links with the Iranian state, according to the prosecution's case heard at the Old Bailey.
| Name | Role | Outcome / Date |
|---|---|---|
| Johannes Natland | Defendant, travelled from Norway to the UK | Found guilty of conspiracy to murder; arrested March 2025 |
| Generalen | Senior organiser within Foxtrot Network | Convicted in Norway in May (this year) of conspiracy and multiple violent offences |
| Atilla Azimov | Named in court as a gunman involved in killings in Sweden | Identified in evidence; linked to shootings in Sweden |
Sentencing details for Natland were not included in the evidence presented at the retrial's conclusion and will follow at a later hearing. The conviction, however, represents an important legal outcome in the UK’s efforts to disrupt violent transnational crime networks that recruit and deploy young operatives.
Police and prosecutors will now assess intelligence and investigative leads exposed during the trial to determine whether further arrests or prosecutions are warranted in Britain or in co‑operation with overseas partners. The case will also feed into wider policy discussions about how to prevent the exploitation of teenagers by organised crime groups and how to tackle crimes that exploit encrypted digital platforms.
