Court round-up: Teenage hitman jailed for 20 years, Harehills rioter sentenced and ex-police officer punished
A Norwegian teenager jailed over a plot to carry out a contract killing in Britain, a man sentenced for his part in the Harehills riots and a former police officer who exploited a vulnerable crime victim are among the latest court cases involving Yorkshire.
A number of serious criminal cases involving Yorkshire have recently been heard in the courts. Here is a round-up of some of the latest sentences and hearings.
Teenage hitman jailed for 20 years over murder plot
A Norwegian teenager recruited to carry out a contract killing in Britain for an international organised crime gang has been sentenced to 20 years in detention.
Johannes Kongsnes Natland, 19, agreed to shoot an unidentified target for €25,000, equivalent to around £21,500, after being recruited by someone working for the Swedish Foxtrot crime network.
The teenager travelled from Stavanger to Manchester Airport in March 2025 before making his way to Huddersfield, where he collected two guns, ammunition and £2,000 in cash.
He was also directed towards a stolen Nissan with false number plates intended to be used in the killing.
Armed police arrested Natland at the Briar Court Hotel in Huddersfield before the planned attack could take place.
Officers recovered a semi-automatic pistol, a revolver and 12 rounds of live ammunition from his hotel room.
Natland admitted possessing the weapons but denied intending to carry out the murder, claiming he had been frightened and had considered shooting himself in the foot to escape the situation.
However, he was convicted of conspiracy to murder and sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday (Oct 16).
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told him: “You agreed to be the enforcer and pursued it, despite numerous opportunities to extricate yourself.”
Counter Terrorism Policing said the Foxtrot network had been involved in orchestrating violence on behalf of the Iranian regime, although investigators found no evidence of a direct link to Iran in this particular plot.
The intended victim has never been identified.
Harehills rioter jailed after helping overturn police car
A man involved in the violent disorder in Harehills, Leeds, during July 2024 has become the 40th person convicted and sentenced over the riots.
Claudiu Gangal, 25, previously admitted violent disorder after taking part in the unrest, during which a police car was overturned and a double-decker bus was set alight.
The disorder began on July 18. 2024, after social workers attended a property on Luxor Street to take four children into care over safeguarding concerns.
The incident attracted a crowd of more than 100 people, with police called to the area as tensions escalated.
Gangal was involved in the disorder and was jailed for two years at Leeds Crown Court.
West Yorkshire Police said 92 people had been arrested as part of its investigation into the unrest, with 58 charged with offences.
Gangal is the 40th person to have been convicted and sentenced following the events of July 18 and 19, 2024.
Former Sheffield police officer sentenced over sexual relationship with vulnerable victim
A former student police officer who exploited his position of trust to pursue an inappropriate sexual relationship with a vulnerable crime victim has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Robert Veza, 45, was working on a neighbourhood policing team in Sheffield in 2023 when he first contacted the woman about a crime she had reported.
Over the following months, he began sending increasingly familiar messages to the woman, who had mental health problems and was considered vulnerable.
In early 2024, Veza visited her home late in the evening, while her children were upstairs, supposedly to help with another crime report.
During the visit, he kissed the woman and exposed himself to her.
He continued contacting and visiting her, instigating an inappropriate sexual relationship which lasted into the summer of 2024.
His offending came to light after the woman wrote to a senior South Yorkshire Police officer about their relationship.
Veza was arrested and suspended in September 2024 before resigning from the force in January 2026.
He pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office on the day his trial was due to begin.
At Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday (Oct 14), Veza was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.
DC Gary Godwin, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “Veza's offending is inexcusable. There is no place in South Yorkshire Police for people like him - he took advantage of a vulnerable member of our community who should have been able to place her trust in him.”
An internal misconduct investigation will continue despite his resignation.
Five men jailed after Harrogate vehicle thefts and police pursuit
Five men have been jailed after stealing two vehicles from a business near Harrogate, sparking a police pursuit which ended with one suspect being found hiding in a bush by a police dog.
At around 4.40am on Tuesday (Nov 4), 2025, police received a report that an Iveco truck and a Renault Master van had been stolen from a business in Fellscliffe.
Officers spotted the stolen truck on the A59 near Blubberhouses, followed by a Volkswagen Passat believed to be acting as a lookout vehicle.
The vehicles continued towards Addingham, where the truck attempted to reverse into a police car before fleeing at twice the speed limit.
Two occupants jumped out as the truck rolled into a wall.
Police stopped the Passat and arrested Shane Ali, 33, James Coffey, 48, and Travis Neagle, 31.
Police dog Rhun later discovered Lewis Jackson, 34, hiding in a bush around 100 metres away. Jackson attempted to flee but was detained after the dog was deployed.
The fifth suspect, Marcus Durant, 31, was arrested later that morning after residents spotted a suspicious man covered in mud attempting to arrange transport in Addingham.
All five men admitted theft of a motor vehicle and burglary, while Coffey also pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified.
At York Crown Court on Thursday (Oct 15), Durant was jailed for two years and ten months, Ali for two years and seven months, Coffey for two years and six months, Neagle for one year and ten months, and Jackson for one year and eight months.
Coffey's sentence will run consecutively to an existing prison term.
Detective Constable Saiyra Khan, of North Yorkshire Police, said the men had travelled across counties “with the clear intention of committing crime under the cover of darkness”.