Despite their genial manner the men were prepared to send gun and grenade toting thugs to the front door of anyone who compromised their interests. To join and get updates, click here and you can also follow Neil's Facebook page here. Does it really have so many gangs as people say? As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Cousins Andrew Hewitt, 15 and Corey Hewitt, 14 but who was 13 at the time, and Joseph McGill, 14, also 13 at the time, were found guilty of murder by majority verdicts of ten to two. The gang - which tried to mislead police by calling themselves 'Manc Joey' - was busted when their suspicious exploits became easy to spot while England was in lockdown. 6 August 2021 - 1:49, by , in Uncategorized, Comments off. When he wasn't in jail, Bob Croxton worked as a drug dealer in Liverpool. In November 2011, the family and their associates were sentenced to a total of 82 years in jail for conspiracy to supply Class A drugs, with individual sentences ranging from two to nine years. The Strand Gang's bitter rivals were the Croxteth Crew, also known as the Crocky Crew, who took their name from the area of north Liverpool where they lived and operated. Ordinary families had to look the other way as local gangsters tried to turn a residential estate into an enclave exempt from the rule of law. Unlike. liverpool gangsters list. Operating under the alias Lil Wayne, Michael Foy delivered drugs to order while working for a criminal network that spanned from Bootle to Southport. which recorded the brothers talking about crime and drugs. Darren Gee was handed 18 years behind bars in 2006 for planning the revenge shooting murder of dad-of-five David Regan. Craig Barker, a friend of the Gees, was shot dead on the estate. The name 'Wavo' is short for Wavertree, while '420' is drug culture slang which refers to cannabis related celebrations that take place on April 20. Graham "The Munster" Kinniburgh Tony Mokbel Jason Moran Lewis Moran Mark Moran Nikolai Radev Squizzy Taylor Andrew "Benji" Veniman Carl Williams Sydney [ edit] George Freeman Michael Kanaan Lenny McPherson Abraham Saffro Ivan bonnano/Craig McLaughlin Canada [ edit] Blairmore [ edit] Florence Lassandro (1900-1923) MOST FEARED GANGSTERS IN LIVERPOOL TOP 5- STEPHEN FRENCH, DARREN GEE, SAM WALKER, CURTIS WARREN 46,075 views Oct 15, 2020 GANGSTER NEWS 2.83K subscribers 86 Dislike Share MOST FEARED. Jake Glenholmes, 27, of Dunluce Street, Walton, James Lunt, 29, of Celendine Close, Wavertree, Sean Mercer pictured in secret filming, shown on Channel 5 show - The clues that caught the killer. Their crimes not only landed them behind bars, but also impacted law-abiding members of their own families who were not associated with their illegal activities in any way. Messages revealed that organised crime gangs in Liverpool "dominate" the UK's guns and . The gang - which tried to mislead police by calling themselves . The teen gunman rode to the car park of the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Park, armed with a WW1 Smith and Wesson revolver and opened fire. Residents were intimidated, rivals were threatened with guns and local police officers were mocked and teased in the street. From feared personalities that have returned to court, to those recently released, here the ECHO looks at where some of the regions highest profile crooks are now thought to be. In the end, they all fell foul of the law. Notorious Daniel Gee feared he will never see the light of day again after being jailed indefinitely. Liverpool gangster James "Pancake" Taylor masterminded an "underworld" revenge attack on an amateur boxer who knocked him out in a prison brawl. Liverpool academic and author of "The Gangs of Liverpool", Mick Macilwee, has been studying the gangs who terrorised the streets of the Victorian city. "This was like a seven mile treasure trove of goods to pilfer for poor people," says Macilwee. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. In 2016, they were ordered to pay back only 600,000 of their estimated 3.8m fortune. The Fernhill Gang originated around Fernhill Road in Bootle - though they kept the name when the jailing of one leader led to the drug gang's base shifting to Netherton's Park Lane estate. Some of Merseysides most notorious figures are well into lengthy sentences at Her Majestys Pleasure. Liverpool's gangs have traditionally worked directly with their Colombian counterparts, with Smith's syndicate buying cocaine from South American networks whose origins can be traced back to. I always sought cash, always looked for cash. A licensing hearing at Sefton Magistrates Court heard members of the gang had been causing trouble in a trendy bar on South Road in Waterloo. That sentence, handed to him 2010, was to be served alongside a seven-and-a-half year drugs sentence. Anthony Whitney fled Liverpool after police raided a safe house in City Road, home of co-conspirator Thomas Dowd. As the drugs gangs expanded so did the violence - and a new phrase entered the gangland culture - contract killing. Liverpool gangsters, including the Bird of Prey and an accomplice, James Taylor, known as "Pancake", are "certainly talking" to the Sinaloa, along with Los Zetas, classified by . Families could not walk past certain addresses without fear of being attacked by thugs who worked for the Burrows brothers. 1960s - 1966. Stephen Gee pretended to be a Liverpool City Council officer to con a 77-year-old widower after he caught him kerb-crawling. Inside abandoned Paradox Nightclub before it was demolished - pictures of iconic club's clock tower In the mid 1990s a new company called Premier Security became a growing force in Liverpool's security industry. The family raked in profits, targeting the citys desperate addicts in what Merseyside Police described as a drugs cash-and-carry business. Website - https://streetcrimeuk.com/Facebook - https:https://www.facebook.com/groups/382950779637126Merch://https://teespring.com/stores/street-crime-ukInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/street_crime_uk/ He says it all began with the mass immigration of destitute Irish into Liverpool during the potato famine. "He was quite a unique character was Tommy because he was a larger than life character. The brothers have each spent much of the past decade behind bars after being accused of separate high-profile international drugs plots. Roberts looked after the guns, while the rest of the lieutenants carried out thousands of drug deals. Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer and Ariel Castro are just a few of the criminals who've called Ohio home. He knew that we were aware what his criminal activity was and he used to use us as a game really. Moore and his gang had gone looking for revenge after a fight between their associates and rivals earlier that day. Liverpool gangsters, including the Bird of Prey and an accomplice, James Taylor, known as "Pancake", are "certainly talking" to the Sinaloa, along with Los Zetas, classified by the US Drug Enforcement Administration as Mexico's most dangerous trafficking organisation. For nearly 30 years Liverpool gangsters have dominated the UK's illegal drug trafficking - creating and supplying the largest market in Europe. He has appealed both sentences, including the cannabis plot one, after police unlawfully bugged a hire car central to the case and listened in on conversations that took place inside it. Class A narcotics had spread to the housing estates, and they were also infiltrating the nightclubs and discos where doormen controlled which dealers were allowed in. The list includes a wide array of films and TV shows, ranging from those that were almost entirely shot and set in the city (e.g. He was jailed indefinitely, but with a minimum four year tariff. Downes, of no fixed address, orchestrated the campaign of violence from a prison cell, from which he was able to make more than 18,000 mobile phone calls. Something went wrong, please try again later. Even more feared was the High Rip Gang. He has been on the run for so long some have claimed he is actually dead - though last year someone claimed to have seen the scarred fugitive in Australia. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. their criminal exploits finally catch up with them. All the Liverpool Echo newsletters you could be reading, The Liverpool Echo has a free app and here's how to download it, Darren Gee organised the cold blooded murder of David Regan, brutally robbing an OAP while high on cocaine. Amsterdam was one of the central strands in a spider's web of supply chains which stretch from Liverpool to Bogata to Kabul. My nephew Anthony Decan was shot in the head with a 9 mm pistol - survived - but lost the use of his left eye. Kirk, a Liverpool gangster, is serving life in prison for crimes including leaving a hand grenade outside the home of Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish. They ran a 24-hour business flooding the streets of Liverpool with heroin and crack cocaine, which saw 13 members of the Whitney drug gang jailed. And if you actually have bullets, it's an extra year for every bullet.". Julian Linskill is a leading crime lawyer in Liverpool. 1999 - Curtis Warren kills an inmate during a fight and is charged with manslaughter. Quinton admitted possessing a Glock with intent to endanger life, possessing a silencer, possessing a revolver, two counts of possessing ammunition and handling stolen goods. Leslie Whitney, Carol's estranged husband who was described as 'the head of the family' was jailed for seven-and-a-half years. In July 2017 Curtis Warren lost in a bid to contest his conviction. @StreetCrimeUK @streetcrimeusa @streetcrimeaustralia Join This Channel And Help Support Our Causehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwONzANTGhD9I4WCRTChMMg/joinStay Connected Via Our Website, YouTube channel, and Facebook. Ian also admitted an 800k plot to flood Merseyside with 168,000 ecstasy tablets. They raked in profits targeting the citys desperate addicts - and at one point stooped so low a young mum in the family stashed cocaine in her baby girls nappy bag to hide the drugs from the cops. The feared criminals, whose gang had access to a cache of guns, samurai swords and machetes, were jailed for more than 26 years combined in November 2013. But rather than being caused by a lack of a father . In 2014, five teenage gang members were found guilty of the murder of Sean "Shorty" McHugh in an Anfield laundrette. Detectives were astounded when they listened back to the tape of Jason and Ian rowing over who was the more adept criminal. The Whitney gang were a family drugs ring that flooded the streets of Liverpool with drugs, peddled crack and heroin next to school playgrounds and lived a life of luxury off the back of it. His 14 year sentence was thought to have begun in Randers, Denmark, but in 2014 the Foreign Office confirmed he was moved back to the UK to finish his jail term. His fear is that the 'lost generation' of today are about to become tomorrow's gangsters and the cycle of crime is about to turn again. Stephen French is now an anti-gun campaigner: "Firearms terrify me because firearms in the hands of wrong people end lives, destroy lives, end communities. He was jailed for 13 and a half years, with an extended two years on licence. Today Stephen says he's left all that behind - and is now a legitimate businessman and anti gun campaigner who's recalled his life in a book. He's credited by police with being Liverpool's first drugs baron. Foy was busted through an extensive Merseyside Police operation targeting the supply of illicit substances across Sefton. The Strand Gangs rival crime firm was the Croxteth Crew, a gang which operated in nearby Croxteth. If the papers are to believed, they were an organised and ruthless gang . A former community leader - known for driving a white Rolls Royce through the streets of Toxteth - he had spent years locked up in a Turkish jail over his role in an international smuggling plot. Top row l-r: Lee Hughes, Bonar Kekula, Liam Oxley, Gerard Downs. He used his money to move into the drugs world dealing with bigger and larger quantities of drugs, and ended up doing substantial terms of imprisonment for it. In deciding which crimes to write about, we consider a range of issues including the severity of the crime, the threat to public safety and the wider context in which it happened. Liam Smigger Smith was a prominent member of the 'Strand Gang' who was shot dead on August 23, 2006 after he went to visit a friend who was serving time in Altcourse Prison. "And if we don't teach them the human feeling, the human emotion and the human contact and that the human spirit must come together when they hit the street, I'll be staying indoors.". Three more members of a Merseyside drugs gang with an unusual name were jailed today over a 300,000 heroin and cocaine enterprise. Very very seldom was there guns. But that has not stopped some of their names from hitting the headlines over the past year. From the Deli Mob to Wavo 420 we took a look at where these gangland names originate from, Get the latest crime reports and stories from Liverpool Echo straight to your inbox. The name Deli Mob relates to the area of Kirkdale where some members of the gang, centring on Delamore Street. Older brother Michael - known for driving a white Rolls Royce through the streets of Toxteth - spent years locked up in a Turkish jail over his alleged role in an international smuggling plot. Although not strictly part of a named gang, Curtis Warren is one of Liverpool's most notorious drug barons. Their families are dysfunctional. The brothers had grown up on the Netherton Park estate, which they turned over time into a stronghold. Their minds are spent towards feuding and prosecuting vendettas against former associates. both believed to have been released from jail, where he was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in jail, Revealed: Curtis Warren and the major league crooks hit with empire-crippling crime orders, Stephen French writes letter to The ECHO after being acquitted of rape, has evaded capture for more than a decade, Who is Kevin Parle? Tony Fat Tony Downes was Bradleys criminal associate. In this case drug dealing was not used as an end in itself but funding the gangs principal activity of feuding.. In the same year criminal associates of the brothers let off a wave of massive car bombs outside nightclubs, family homes and police stations. In retaliation Darren Gee organised the cold blooded murder of David Regan, who owned a car wash in Old Swan. "And if we as elders of the villages and communities don't have something to keep their interests and channel their energies, it doesn't bear thinking about. It was a fast, frivolous time and the money was spent fast and frivolously.". Gregory Mulhare, then 40, another dad with two young children, also had a "leading role" - beneath Joseph - but was more 'hands on'. "I wasn't a drug dealer, I didn't sell drugs," he says. liverpool gangsters list. The Scottie Road Crew were named after their Scotland Road territory and became locked in a petty dispute with the Langrove Street based "Langy Crew.". Emma Mackenzie's mum Mary McCabe, from Walton, was sentenced to eight years for her part in the conspiracy and for possessing a prohibited firearm. The gang's vast shipments were ferried north to Scotland and south to Bristol, Milton Keynes, Swindon, Oxford and Weston-Super-Mare. Liverpool underworld figure and drug trafficker. shipments of cocaine and cannabis from Merseyside to Northern Ireland. He was an old school armed robber - a safe blower and a wages snatcher. Media is an important component of Liverpool's economy and in 2019 brought over 17 . He was recently released from his latest jail stint after being found not guilty of rape when prosecutors dropped the charges he had branded malicious. The two men have escaped justice for decades which is why the ECHO cannot name them. But others are based on a family name, like the Whitney gang who flooded the streets of Liverpool with drugs. Many of these names are associated with gangland shootings, drug dealing or high profile trials where gang members were hauled before the courts. The drugs network Foy was part of was locked up after being hit in a series of police raids at addresses across Southport, Formby, Birkdale, Litherland, Bootle and Seaforth. Sean McHugh, 19, was chased into the launderette, on Priory Road, by a gang on September 30, 2013, where he was fatally stabbed with a sword stick and died a few days later. James Cullen, representing Merseyside Police, said members of the Kirkstone Riot Squad were out of control in the bar and that door staff were unable to deal with the situation. Gangs often take their names from areas their members live or operate in, such as the likes of the Strand Gang or the Scottie Road Crew. In 2013, seven Croxteth Crew members were jailed for a total of 113 years for carrying out a terror campaign of punishment shootings and fire bombings. Across the Universe) . Gang leader James Lunt backed up his exploits with an arsenal of weapons that included a Beretta handgun responsible for 17 shootings on Merseyside alone. Police want to question Parle in relation the murders of Walton mum Lucy Hargreaves and Toxteth teenager Liam Kelly. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. But in saying that it only led me to a life of desperation, despair and no hope "Money was made, money was spent. The original Fernhill gang dates back to the 1970s. However, detectives believe they recovered only a fraction of the drugs trafficked and some 200,000 ecstasy tablets alone were manufactured, many of them from a machine hidden in the cellar of a property in Clifton Road, Birkenhead. But the ECHO understands the pair are now out of prison following stints in foreign jails. Speaking at the conclusion of the Whitney gang sentencing, Detective Chief Superintendent Tony Doherty from Merseyside Police said: This family is so dangerous that guns and drugs are part of their daily business.. Big profits lead to larger consignments and the ability to fund other crimes. They used unlicensed scrambler bikes to get quickly to and from their targets and avoid police patrols, while earning money dealing around their turf on Stonedale Crescent and Mossway shops. Ringleader Paul Whitney, then 32, of Fazakerley, was jailed for nine years and four months while his associate Matthew Mayor, from Haydock, received eight years and four months. They are largely family-run organised criminal gangs involved in many illegal activities in their respective areas. Inside Out charts the history of gangland violence on Merseyside in a special investigation. An ECHO report from the time said the small time drug dealers made a habit of feuding with former associates and members of rival gangs, which led to violent tit-for-tat attacks. The judge who sentenced the gang members, Mr Justice Openshaw said: Despite their denials the defendants are members of the criminal gang known to themselves as the Croxteth Young Guns. On August 22, the day 11-year-old Rhys was shot and killed, Croxteth Crew gang member Sean Mercer was told three Nogga Dogs had been spotted on their territory. A bug, which was planted by SOCA in their family home on Edale Road, recorded the brothers bickering in front of their mum about who was the better drug dealer. Their names only have currency within the upper tiers of the drugs economy. He was later handed an extra 10 months in jail for perverting the course of justice. Sept. 28, 2016. Keeping things in the family didn't stop the authorities from catching up to them, and one crime group who were dubbed 'the Whitney gang' saw members jailed for a total of 82 years. During the trial Nicholas Johnson, QC, prosecuting, said the boys referred to themselves as the Laneheads, after the gangs territory around the Townsend Lane area of Anfield, whereas as Sean McHugh and his friend Josh Williams, who was also chased but got away were called Village Rats, because they came from Walton Village. Cultivated cannabis was found together with hydraulic presses and other equipment for the production of Class A drugs. Today drugs are still very much part of Liverpool's crime scene. He had his own drivers and issued instructions, with phone records revealing significant contact between him and drug dealers. He was jailed for three years in 2013 for possessing a knife and threatening a business associate with an imitation firearm. The Linacre Young Guns was a street gang based in the Linacre Road area on the border of Litherland and Bootle. She was subsequently released from court, having already served half her sentence on remand. He's dead now, but his legacy lives on. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. She's 34-years-old and has been a junkie for nearly half her life. Liverpool 8 was known then as a ghetto - and the life of the area's mainly black population of 20,000 centered around Granby Street. 1990s - 2003. Back in June, we took a look at some of the most notorious gang names from across Merseyside and how they came to be. Rather than get his hands dirty, he directed others to produce, store, collect and distribute drugs to gangs across England and Scotland. Liverpool gangster James "Pancake" Taylor masterminded an underworld revenge attack on an amateur boxer who knocked him out in a prison brawl. Years of neglect and racial harassment led to nine days of violence and riots in Toxteth. Photograph Geoff Davies, Police mugshot of Daniel Gee - he was jailed in 2010, Peter Clarke, left and brother Stephen Clarke. Infamous crime lord Delroy Showers was jailed in 2009 over a plot to smuggle just over 1m worth of amphetamines into Denmark from the Netherlands. Bottom row l-r: Billy Griffin, Lauren Griffin, Robin Griffin, John Brady As he was jailed for seven years in December 2018, Kekula's. Here are 8 of England's most notorious gangs. In order to enforce their dominance they collected an arsenal of weapons including several pistols and a double barrelled shotgun, and made petrol bombs out of Lucozade bottles filled with white spirit. Paul Whitney was the ringleader, who headed up the criminal operation with help from his mother Carol Whitney who hoarded the gangs money and was dubbed "the banker". Members became infamous for robbing rival drug dealers' cannabis farms then selling the drugs themselves. Having spent more than a year at large, they voluntarily chose to return to the UK rather than remain in a squalid Thai prison. None of his intended targets were hit, but Rhys was killed while returning home from football practice. You can get the latest crime reports in your area here: Glenholmes was branded a ruthless, brutal and dangerous man by Judge Anil Murray, who sentenced him to 15 years in jail with a further 36 months on licence. I hate it, having to get up in the morning and having to depend on something "If I knew then what I was going to be like I'd have stayed away from it and that's the truth, I'd have stayed away.". June 2007 - Released from prison. Their mum Christine, who admitted laundering 180,000 drug cash found hidden beneath floorboards in her Mossley Hill home, was jailed for two years. As power transferred to the Shiels brothers, the gangs geographical hub shifted away from north Bootle and toward the Park Lane estate, known to locals as Dodge. Three more members of a Merseyside drugs gang with an unusual name were jailed today over a 300,000 heroin and cocaine enterprise. In May 2017 Spanish police launched a raid on the brothers' compound in the Costa Del Sol - the footage was like a scene from Netflix series Narcos, as heavily armed men stormed a villa while a helicopter roared overhead. Crime and violence. When Smith left Altcourse prison he was ambushed by about 20 members of the Croxteth Crew - who had hidden in bushes. Jason, then 42 and of North Sudley Road, Aigburth, and Ian, then 41 and of Heigham Gardens, St Helens, were jailed for 14-and-a-half and 16 years respectively in June 2013 over their plan to import 57kg of heroin from Turkey. Something went wrong, please try again later. He enlisted two cronies to help him carry out the vicious armed attack on Lee Siner at a city centre kebab house. A bug was planted in their mum's south Liverpool home, which recorded the brothers talking about crime and drugs. Her two-year-old daughter was sleeping upstairs at the time. Gangs Of Britain: Liverpool (Gang Culture Documentary) | Real Stories Real Stories 5.92M subscribers Subscribe 2M views 6 years ago A historical look at Britain's most notorious gangs; this.