Gangs of England

[Brum Guy]

Was just reading this on one website looked intrestin dont fink its accurate tho(BEWARE LONG READ)Manchester and England's first modern street gangsIn the mid 1980s, a growth in violence amongst West Indian youths from the west side of the Alexandra Park Estate in South Manchester and their rivals, West Indians residing to the north of the city, in Cheetham Hill began to gain media attention. Cheetham Hill was populated by West Indians who had moved north of the city (to the spill over estate of Cheetham), from Moss Side in south Manchester. The two estates had loosely agreed not to carry out "business" in one anotherâs area. A robbery by Cheetham Hill, in what was seen as a Moss Side area in 1984 was followed by a dispute over a woman, which brought the two areas into conflict. Cheetham Hillcriminals were the first to show firearms, at a time when gun crime in Manchester was still rare.Towards the end of the 1980s, another group of young men from the east side of the Alexandra Park estate began dealing drugs from Moss Lane. They used the Pepperhill Pub in Bedwell Close and later became known as the Pepperhill Mob. The proceeds of the drug dealing by the Pepperhill Mob attracted the Cheetham Hill gang's attention and extorted Pepperhill Mob's drug money. Unlike the first conflict, where Cheetham Hill had carried out most of the attacks on Moss Side, the Pepperhill Mob showed they would defend themselves and the second conflict in a matter of years broke out between Manchester criminal groups north and south of the city centre. The dividing line become Manchester city centre.The gang wars in Manchester first gained national media attention in the Guardian newspaper on 7th June 1988. In the article, Cliver Atkinson, deputy head of Greater Manchester CID said, "We are dealing with a black mafia which is a threat to the whole community, and fear that unless we can apprehend the leaders, it is only a matter of time before an innocent person is killed." This came after concern over eight shootings and a gun related murder in Moss Side and Cheetham Hill when gun crime was still rare.A report two years later, on the 15th December 1990 in the Guardian newspaper described how easy access to drugs and guns was causing unease in some Manchester housing estates. It focused on the growing attraction of violent crime and combat in the "concrete jungle". Throughout the early 1990s, a great deal of national media attention was given to the warring gangs of Manchester. The city was dubbed in the media as 'The Bronx of Britain', 'Gangchester' and 'Gunchester'.Whilst the city had become divided between Cheetham Hill and Moss Side, at the end of the 80s another conflict began. Alexandra Road divided the small estate of Alexandra Park. There were to be no dealings between the north and south of the city. However, youths from the west-side carried on dealing with Cheetham Hill and they began to war with the Pepperhill Mob. The youths on the west-side who lived around Gooch Close later become known as the Gooch Close gang. Gooch Close still exists today but has been changed to Westerling Way.The war between the Gooch and Pepperhill saw a surge in violent assaults and drug related murders. At the height of it all, the Pepperhill pub was closed down and the remaining members regrouped around Doddington Close and become known as the Doddington Close Gang.While the 'elders' were a threat to society the 'youngsters' to come up beneath them were even more ruthless in the trade and conflicts between the east and west of Alexandra Park were commonplace into the mid 1990s. In 1994, Andy Nott, crime correspondent for the Manchester Evening News reported that 'Gun gangs call a halt to war in the streets', on 13th August. A truce was agreed and after the initial summit two Los Angeles street gang members who were once deadly rivals with the Bloods and Crips visited Moss Side.In 1995 the truce broke down following the murder of Raymond Pitt. Rays younger brother, Tommy Pitt, broke away from the Doddington Close Gang to create the Pitt Bull Crew, meanwhile in Longsight, east of Moss Side, Julian Bell formed the Longsight Crew. Conflicts arose between the Longsight Crew and Gooch, Longsight Crew and Pit Bull Crew, Pit Bull Crew and Doddington and the Doddington and Gooch. Tit-for-tat gang shootings increased dramatically toward the end of the 1990s.Over the past several years other gangs such as the Young Longsight Soldiers have appeared and gangs have splintered into smaller groups such as the Young Gooch. The gang wars that started over 20 years ago are still present in todayâs Manchester. The most recent example being in February 2006 when five men from Moss Side were jailed in what was thought to be a gang feud between the Gooch and Doddington in Manchester city centre.Bristol and the Aggi CrewDuring the 1990s Bristolâs drug trade was predominantly ran by a local gang known as the Aggi Crew. Towards the end of the century Jamaican criminals had been moving in on Bristol, as well as many other British towns and cities. In 1998, six members of the Aggi Crew were imprisoned after being found in possession of over £1 million worth of crack-cocaine.Following the Aggi Crew imprisonment so-called Yardie dealers began running the area using new methods of dealing to ensure they evaded the police. Drug dealing around St Pauls Grosvenor Road area and the Black and White Cafe (now closed) rapidly reached epidemic proportions. Drug dealing and intimidation, joined by addicts, muggers and prostitutes, began to plague the St Pauls district of the city.When the Aggi Crew members were released from prison they were eager to take back their territory and made an offer to the Jamaicans. The Jamaicans were an alliance of several smaller gangs including the Hype Crew, Mountain View Posse, Back to Back Gang and the Gucci. The Aggi Crew suggested they could operate St Pauls as long as they paid a tax. The Jamaicans refused and as a mark of disrespect the Aggi Crew stormed the Black and White Café robbing everyone at gunpoint.The first incident involved a Hype Crew member being shot followed by a shooting on an Aggi Crew member. A series of tit-for-tat shootings and violent incidents took place. Armed police were drawn in to mount patrols around the St Pauls district following the release of the Aggi Crew amid fears of the growing gang violence. The patrols began in January 2003.The patrols were in response to fears of a turf war between the gangs of drug dealers known to be armed and willing to use violence against each other. However, the threat of violence lessened and patrols were withdrawn in February 2003. In September 2003, Stephen Henry, a drugs dealer's "protector" was shot dead by a rival gang during a Bristol turf war. He was shot three times as he got into his car after leaving the Level Nightclub in the city centre and was a debt enforcer and security man for dealer Arif Dad.In recent years Bristol has not hit the headlines with tales of gang warfare. One of the more recent incidents was when two innocent victims were shot in October 2004 in what was a gangland hit. There are many other gang's in the city including the notorious La Bloods and Crips many Mafia gangs and low level street gangs who are averagely 16 to 30 years old.BirminghamThe 1980s saw gang culture grow in Birmingham with gangs such as the Inch High Crew and "Handsworth Nigga sqad". There were also gangs such as Sodom. Although the Birmingham gangs have a history dating back to the 1980s, most were not brought to the public's attention until New Years Eve, 2003 , when a high-profile drive-by shooting in the Birchfeild Area (near to Aston Area) claimed the lives of two teenage girls, Letisha Shakespeare and Charlenne Ellis. Several gangs operate in the Birmingham area, the most well known being those involved in the shootings of Ellis and Shakespeare, the Johnson Crew and Burger Bar Boys. New younger gangs too are appearing such as the Champagne Crew and the Badder Bar Boys.The riot in Lozells October 2005 saw black and Asian gangs clash on a large scale. This was due to an unfounded rumour that several Asian men had gang raped a Black girl which sparked the violence.Modern London Street GangsLondon is one of the most multicultural cities in the world. The days of the Krays and the Richardsons are long gone now. Even the organisation and ruthlessness of the Chinese Triads takes a back seat in modern London. The main organised groups are responsible for a great deal of crime, Vietnamese groups, Colombian cocaine networks, Eastern European groups, Turkish mafia, Paki Panthers, Shere Punjab, Tamil Tigers .The ruthlessness of young guns in the capital making a living in dealing and violence are often making headlines due to tit-for-tat and reprisal shootings and murders. Whilst gun deaths have decreased in the past year the number of shootings has increased. There are many street gangs in London, such as black, white, Asian gangs and even more defined groups of Jamaican Yardies, British Blacks, Somalians, Tamils, Bengalis, Sikhs, Turkish and Chinese street gangs. A recent report reported that there were around 170 criminal gangs in England.London itself may be home to 150 street gangs alone. It has to be said that so called 'Chinese' Street gangs are not Chinese at all, but other Asians such as Filipinos (as in the case of the murder of London headmaster Philip Lawrence) and Vietnamese. Currently the Vietnamese are found to be behind the growth of 'cannabis factories' set up in ordinary houses in the UK. The gangs involved in these often hide behind the front of Vietnamese nail parlours.

[Guest Dr. Doom]

I like reading but I refuse to read all that sh*t.

[bank]

inaccuratethey left out the computer badman/geek gang

[Brum Guy]

^^ lol!!

[Brukfoot]

Read the London part, it's nice to see they're not just focusing on black people as I usually see in these sort of articles.What source?

[Uncle Fargas]

dont really share an intrest for manchester gangs

[Brum Guy]

wikipedia still

[streets.]

not exactly in depth is it.your better of reading a home office report.

[NewKingofKings]

Tamil Tigers are actually the most serious goons.