UK Investigation: Iran Recruited Teens and Young Adults in Europe to Carry Out Attacks
A 19-year-old from Norway was arrested in London after intelligence reached British authorities about a planned attack. During questioning, he said he had been recruited in Norway by a crime organization linked to Iran. He also said other teenagers and young adults were recruited by the same group.
Courthouse in Britain (Photo: Shutterstock)A young Norwegian man was arrested in Britain on his way to carry out an attack for money. During questioning, he revealed that he had been recruited by a Swedish organized crime group working for Iran. British prosecutors said this today (Wednesday) in a London court.
Johannes Netland, now 19, was arrested in a hotel room in Huddersfield in northern England in March of last year, with two weapons and ammunition in his possession. Prosecutor Alistair Richardson told the court this. The prosecutor noted that the young man "was recruited by an organization called the Foxtrot Network, and in exchange for 25,000 euros he would travel to London and carry out an attack".
Richardson told the jury that Netland had already pleaded guilty in October to possession of a semi-automatic pistol, a handgun, and live ammunition. "We do not know whom the defendant planned to murder, but as you will see from his messages, from the messages of others, and from what he told his friends in Norway before setting out on his plan, it was clear that this was his intention." According to the prosecution, the young man said that other teenagers and young adults had also been recruited for the same purposes.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time the Swedish "Foxtrot" network has been linked to Iran. Members of the crime organization were previously caught in several places across Europe trafficking weapons and supplying arms to Islamic terrorists for the purpose of carrying out attacks on the European continent.
