Norwegian teen accused of UK assassination plot says ‘I’m no cold-blooded professional hitman’ | UK News

A Norwegian teenager accused of flying to the UK to assassinate a stranger for money has told a court he’s “no cold-blooded professional hitman”.

Johannes Natland, 19, said he thought he would be killed if he did not go along with the plan after he was offered 25,000 euros by the Foxtrot network – a Swedish organised crime group used by the Iranian regime – to shoot dead an unknown target.

Giving evidence in English at the Old Bailey, he said he initially thought the planned hit was a “joke”, but wanted to take some money to buy drugs before backing out.

“When I realised this is real and these guys are expecting me to go to England and shoot someone, I’m in a bit of a pickle,” he said.

“If I was to say, ‘no, I was just going to trick you guys’ I would be in serious danger – worse they might hurt my family. I thought they’d kill me.”

He admitted he “made a lot of bad choices” but said: “I was trying to put up this facade, this hard exterior like I kill people in England for breakfast, but I was terrified. I didn’t know what to do.”

“I’m not no cold-blooded professional hitman. I find this ridiculous.”

Natland said he’d been portrayed as “some professional international hitman, like I’m Liam Neeson” from the film Taken, but added: “I was never a criminal back home, I was a drug addict.”

The court has heard Natland was directed to stashes of money, guns and ammunition, after arriving at Manchester Airport from his home in Stavanger, in southwest Norway, on 17 March.

He filmed himself handling an antique revolver, a semi-automatic pistol and 12 live bullets, in his room at the Briar Court Hotel, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

Natland told jurors he was “stressing”, sitting in “a city I’ve never heard of”, with two firearms under his bed after he was told “tomorrow is the day”.

He said he came up with the “not very brilliant plan” to shoot himself in the foot to avoid going through with the plan but did “definitely not” intend to kill someone.

“I was thinking that’s the only way I’m going to get out of this. Of course, it’s going to look like I’m an idiot… but desperate times call for desperate measures,” he said.

Bodyworn camera footage shows Natland, wearing only his boxer shorts, pretending to shoot armed police with an imaginary gun as they arrested him at the hotel early on 19 March last year.

“I don’t know why I done it,” he told the jury. “I was just happy. I thought they was my saviour, this is my way out.”

Natland has pleaded guilty to possession of the two guns and the bullets, but denies conspiracy to murder between 1 and 20 March last year.

He said he was a good student and keen footballer but his drug habit “destroyed everything” and he spent time in a care home and a psychiatric unit after taking amphetamines, cannabis and cocaine.

Natland said one of the boys in care initially sent him a message to recruit him into the alleged murder plot, which was directed by a user called “Agent 47”, along with another Norwegian teenager, “Generalen”.

The trial continues.