Norwegian teen in court over firearm offences

A trial date has been set for a Norwegian teenager who was allegedly caught with two guns in a Huddersfield hotel room.

Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 18, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder and having a firearm and ammunition on 19 March, two days after arriving in the UK from Norway.

West Yorkshire Police deployed specialist firearms officers to the hotel and seized what were believed to be two firearms and a quantity of ammunition from the defendant's room.

The firearms are alleged to have been a black Luger 9mm semi-automatic pistol and a revolver.

Mr Natland appeared at the Old Bailey on Friday charged with possession of two prohibited firearms and having ammunition without a firearms certificate.

He spoke only to confirm his identity.

A plea hearing was set for 18 July and a provisional trial date was fixed for 2 June next year.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told the defendant he would be remanded in custody until his next hearing.

Scotland Yard has previously said that because of ongoing lines of inquiry, including a number of international inquiries, the investigation was being dealt with by detectives from Counter Terrorism Policing.

However, the case was not being treated as terrorist-related at this time, a spokesperson for the Met Police said.

The investigation is being supported by colleagues with North East Counter Terrorism Policing and West Yorkshire Police.

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