700 police pounce on ‘ringleaders’ of brutal street gang in nationwide raids
THE alleged ringleaders of one of Britain’s most notorious street crime gangs were arrested in a nationwide crackdown yesterday.
Up to 700 officers swooped on addresses from London to Edinburgh in co- ordinated dawn raids which were aimed at ‘decapitating’ their suspected underworld empire.
The operation targeted the GAS – Guns and Shanks – gang which runs a multi-million pound crack cocaine ring and is linked to a string of murders. Senior officers said the gang, which has its roots in South London, was increasingly stretching its ‘tentacles’ to new markets in other cities, the Home Counties and affluent suburbs.
They warned that its leaders were willing to use extreme violence, often sparking bloody turf wars as they kicked out weaker rivals.
The GAS gang was behind at least six killings in recent years, many fuelled by tit-for-tat rows over territory and ‘respect’.
It was also responsible for the callous shooting that paralysed fiveyear- old Thusha Kamaleswaran as she played in her uncle’s shop in Stockwell, South London, in 2011.
Yesterday police teams swooped on more than 20 addresses thought to belong to the ‘top tier’ of the criminal network, described as ‘the most senior-ranking high-harm members’.
A total of 29 suspects, aged between 18 and 47, were arrested at properties in Edinburgh, Bedfordshire, Barking in East London, Reading
‘Starting pistols or antique guns’
and Bracknell in Berkshire. Raids also took place on estates controlled by the gang in Brixton and Stockwell, as well as across Lambeth, Southwark, Brent and Hackney.
Search teams recovered thousands of pounds in cash and a huge amount of crack cocaine – the gang’s main source of income.
Scotland Yard, which was behind the operation, has enjoyed great success in targeting street gangs in recent years, recording substantial falls in associated crime.
But one top officer said in some cases their activities have simply been displaced to other areas, including the Home Counties.
Commander Steve Rodhouse said: ‘This particular gang have identified drug markets across the country which they see as fruitful and have moved into them. The money comes back to London – these are London gangsters – but we are willing to follow them wherever they go.’
The raids were the latest phase in the crackdown, which has racked up a total of 88 arrests since it began in December.
The GAS gang, which some say also stands for Gangsters Always Shoot, has been blamed for eight out of ten murders and serious attacks on its South London home patch.
It recruits children young as 12, known as ‘youngers’, to run errands and sell drugs. Meanwhile senior members, known as ‘ elders’, use extreme violence to enforce a hugely profitable drug-dealing network.
Police have monitored a worrying trend of young men from war zones, including Somalia, joining criminal street gangs.
Most recent shootings have been carried out using poor quality, converted starting pistols or antique guns, as police restrict the supply of firearms. But police fear the gang could have access to Mac-10 machine guns, dubbed ‘spray and pray’ for their high rate of fire and inaccuracy.
Commander Rodhouse added that police are monitoring a worrying trend in ‘ aggravated burglaries’ where gang members threaten people in their homes.
The Met said the suspects were arrested on suspicion of crimes including conspiracy to supply class A drugs, money laundering, fraud and immigration offences.