A 19-year-old who came from Norway and was arrested in a Huddersfield hotel with firearms and live rounds has been found guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiracy to murder.
The jury returned a unanimous verdict following just over 17 hours of deliberation in a retrial. The defendant, Johannes Natland, had already pleaded guilty to possessing the two handguns and 19 rounds of ammunition found under his bed when officers entered the room in March 2025.
How police say the plot unfolded
Prosecutors say Natland was directed to the UK by an organised crime group described during the trial as the Foxtrot Network, which the court heard has been sanctioned by both the UK and the United States for links to the Iranian government. The network, according to evidence presented at the Old Bailey, has been associated with the recruitment of teenagers to carry out violent attacks.
“recruited”
Natland travelled to Manchester on an emergency passport on 17 March 2025 and was given video instructions via the messaging app Signal that led him to Huddersfield. Prosecutors said a stolen car, weapons and cash had been stashed in locations to support the operation.
Arrest and trial details
He was detained in a hotel room after UK and Norwegian investigators moved following arrests in Norway. Police discovered the firearms and ammunition; when officers arrived at the door Natland is said to have mimed shooting an officer before being restrained and handcuffed. At trial he told jurors he had been in what he described as “a major pickle” and denied intending to carry out the attack, saying he had planned to shoot himself in the foot rather than target another person.
- Guns and ammo: two handguns, 19 live rounds
- Travel: arrival into Manchester on 17 March 2025
- Verdict: unanimous guilty verdict after about 17 hours of jury deliberation
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 17 March 2025 | Natland flew into Manchester on an emergency passport |
| March 2025 | Arrested in Huddersfield hotel with firearms |
| Retrial 2026 | Found guilty of conspiracy to murder |
The teenager who allegedly recruited Natland cannot be named because he is under 18. He was known in evidence by the online name “Generalen” or General; it was a Norwegian arrest of that recruiter which prompted investigators to search the Signal messages and quickly locate Natland in England.
This case highlights the cross-border dimension of modern organised crime and the increasing use of encrypted messaging and social media to direct violent activity. It also underlines the challenges for policing when young people are targeted and moved across frontiers to carry out attacks.
Sentencing will follow. The criminal proceedings have already produced admissions of illegal firearms possession and now this conviction on the far graver charge of conspiracy to murder.
