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Norwegian teen hired as hitman by Iranian gang jailed 20 years
Natland, nineteen, a talented footballer, had agreed to shoot an unknown target for twenty-five thousand euros on behalf of an Iran-backed gang; the pay now looks poor.
Watch it as it aired: Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock on this story, from BBN This Morning at 9:13 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are The Guardian's, the jokes are ours.
At a glance
- First reported by The Guardian: “Norwegian teenager hired as hitman by Iranian crime gang jailed for 20 years”.
- Covered on BBN on Friday, October 16, 2026, at 9:13 AM ET on BBN This Morning, by Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock.
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorA Norwegian teenager who travelled to Britain to carry out a killing for an Iran-backed international crime gang has been jailed for twenty years, The Guardian reports.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorJohannes Kongsnes Natland is nineteen, and he was arrested in Huddersfield with two guns and live ammunition.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorHe's described as a talented footballer, which raises the question: how does a nineteen-year-old athlete end up in this situation?

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorHe had agreed to shoot an unknown target.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorUnknown! So the gang couldn't even get the victim's name straight. That's either incredibly sloppy or an ambitious attempt at plausible deniability.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe fee was twenty-five thousand euros, about twenty-one thousand five hundred pounds.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThat's a decent signing bonus.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorSpread over twenty years in prison, it comes to about twelve hundred euros a year. A paper route pays better.
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