A 19-year-old Norwegian was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison in Britain after being convicted of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire for an international crime network linked to the Iranian regime. The teen was recruited for the job through an online video game and agreed to carry out the hit for €25,000, according to the Associated Press.
The teen, Johannes Kongsnes Netteland, was convicted last July after agreeing to shoot a person whose identity was unknown to him. He was arrested at a hotel in Huddersfield in northern England just two days after arriving in Britain, with two pistols and ammunition in his possession. Netteland admitted to possessing the weapons and ammunition but claimed he never intended to carry out the murder plot.
According to the report, Netteland, who worked part-time at a pizza restaurant before his arrest, was recruited while playing an online game by the Swedish crime network “Foxtrot.” According to counterterrorism officials at London’s Metropolitan Police, the network maintains ties with the Iranian regime.
The network has been linked to violent operations against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime. Following this activity, the British government imposed sanctions on the organization and its leader last year, including asset freezes and a ban on British companies handling funds and assets controlled by the network.
London police emphasized that Netteland was acting on behalf of elements within the crime network, which has been sanctioned by both Britain and the United States for its involvement in orchestrating violent operations against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.