Norwegian teenager sentenced to 20 years over UK murder plot

5 News traces an online recruitment that brought a teenager to Huddersfield with a promised payment he never received.

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5 News Story of October 17, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 57,175 views a day, 10 times a normal first day on this channel (5,509).

Norwegian teen paid £21k for UK hit jailed for 20 years

Armed officers confront a teenager outside a hotel room in Huddersfield. He points an imaginary gun at them. The bodycam footage opens 5 News' report on a Norwegian recruit who traveled to Britain to kill a stranger for money.

Ruth Liptrot's report follows his journey through airport and security footage: arriving in Manchester, collecting hidden cash and firearms, checking into a hotel and buying gloves. Social media clips then show him displaying handguns and ammunition in the room.

He had just turned eighteen when police arrested him. At sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told him: "You agreed to assassinate another human being, a stranger to you in a foreign country." He received a twenty-year detention sentence.

The Short drew roughly 37,000 views in its first eleven hours, already well above the channel's usual full-day audience for that format.

Beyond the arrest footage, the report examines recruitment. Commander Helen Flanagan describes a teenager with no previous criminal record who was recruited online. The report identifies the recruiters as the Foxtrot network, backed by the Iranian regime. Flanagan also draws a distinction between the promised reward and what actually happened: he never received the money.

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