A Norwegian teenager was recruited by a Swedish organised crime group used by the Iranian regime to murder someone in England, a court has heard.
Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, travelled to the UK on 17 March last year with the plan to “undertake a hit” in exchange for money, it is alleged.
The teenager was allegedly acting for an organisation called Foxtrot Network, but was prevented from carrying out an attack after he was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, two days after his arrival, the court heard.
Police found a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver, and 12 rounds of live ammunition in his possession, it was heard.
Prosecutor Alastair Richardson told the trial opening that Natland, from Stavanger in southwest Norway, had agreed to work for the group “in return for some money”.
It was heard that an individual referred to as Agent 47 had contacted a figure with the username Generalen to ask for someone to carry out an assassination in the UK.
In the message, Agent 47 told Generalen that there was €25,000 (£21,590) “in the pot”.
Jurors heard that Natland was contacted on 15 March by a user, called UnknownHustler, informing him of the job.
Natland later messaged his girlfriend to say: “I’m going on a crazy mission”.
Jurors were shown further messages in which Generalen told Agent 47 in a group chat with Natland: “This is the assassin for EU, brother.”
The defendant flew from Norway to Manchester Airport on 18 March, arriving that evening.
It was heard that upon his arrival the defendant was interviewed by Border Force officers over concerns surrounding his age and lack of money.
He told them that he had arrived in the city to visit his gamer friends and see landmarks, the court was told.
The defendant left the airport and took a taxi to a hotel in Manchester. That night, Agent 47 sent him a message reading: “Sleep and when you wake up we start.”
The court heard that the following day, Natland collected the guns and ammunition and messaged his girlfriend to say: “In the bag is bang.”
He also bought rubber gloves and lined up a car, the prosecutor told jurors.
On the morning of 19 March, specialist firearms officers attended the Briar Court Hotel in Huddersfield to arrest Natland.
It was heard that as the defendant came to the doorway, he held his hands up “imitating holding a firearm, and pretended to shoot one of the officer”.
The prosecutor said: “You may think that of itself gives you a little insight about what he was in the United Kingdom to do.”
Mr Richardson told jurors: “The group that had recruited him, the Foxtrot Network, is a Swedish organised crime group used by the Iranian regime.
“We do not know who the defendant was planning to murder, but as you will see from his messages, the messages of others, and what he told his friends in Norway before he set out on his plan, it was clear that was his plan.”
He told jurors while it was a Swedish-based group, its leadership figures live elsewhere.
Mr Richardson added: “The Foxtrot network often use perpetrators who are very young, and with whom they have no direct link.
“The use of social media has enabled the rapid increase of cross-border crime.
“The groups used by the Foxtrot Network, also known as the Swedish Foxes, can have anything from a few to several thousand members, with group names such as Samurai Children.”
Mr Richardson said that the group operates with several levels of organisation, including instigators, which “fits neatly” with Agent 47, and lower-end recruiters, such as Generalen.
He added that facilitators are said to be responsible for the logistics of the crime and enforcers are the young men at the “bottom of the chain”.
The prosecutor added: “Recruitment of enforcers is focused on young individuals, often those linked to institutions such as care homes. In general, they have no connection with the intended victim.”
The prosecutor said he is informing the jury of this so that they understand the serious nature of the enterprise the defendant has allegedly entered into.
He told them that it helps them to understand “how an 18-year-old from a foreign country was able to enter into an agreement to murder someone he did not know and did not care about, in the United Kingdom”.
Natland denies a charge of conspiracy to murder.
The Old Bailey trial continues.
