A street shooting in East London last May, which resulted in a nine-year-old girl being struck by a bullet, has revealed connections to a massive £4 billion cocaine conspiracy in Merseyside. The intended targets of the shooting were members of a notorious London criminal organization, whose leader was deeply involved with a Liverpool-based crime group in one of the largest drug plots ever planned in the UK.
The incident, which saw the young girl suffer a permanent brain injury, highlights the far-reaching and often violent consequences of organized crime. Investigations have detailed a global drug empire with significant links to the Merseyside region.
Key Takeaways
- A nine-year-old girl was shot in East London, with a bullet remaining in her brain.
- The shooting targeted members of the 'Bombers' gang, involved in a long-standing feud.
- This gang was linked to a £4 billion cocaine plot orchestrated with a Liverpool crime group.
- The Merseyside operation was largely run from a phone box on Old Hall Street, Liverpool.
- Key figures Mehmet Baybasin and Paul Taylor received lengthy prison sentences.
London Gang Feud and Collateral Damage
The shooting, which occurred in Dalston, East London, in May last year, was part of an ongoing rivalry. This feud has existed for decades between two London gangs: the Hackney Turks, also known as the Bombacilars or 'Bombers', and the Tottenham Turks. The Bombacilars developed a significant reputation, reportedly controlled by the Baybasin brothers, known in criminal circles as "The Family."
The conflict between these two gangs intensified in the 2000s. This period saw a series of retaliatory shootings and arson attacks. These violent acts sometimes resulted in innocent individuals being caught in the crossfire, as tragically happened in Dalston.
A statement from the nine-year-old girl's mother described the impact: "Our daughter's joyful spirit remains but it is now wrapped in layers of frustration and silent pain. She watches her friends do what she cannot and she carries it all inside with quiet strength. This tragedy did not just change our daughter's life, it broke something in us as a family."
Fact: The Dalston Shooting
Three men – Mustafa Kiziltan, Kenan Aydogdu, and Nasser Ali – all associates of the Bombacilar gang, were the intended targets. They were sitting outside a restaurant when a gunman on a motorbike opened fire, discharging six bullets. The gunman and the weapon used have not been recovered.
The Global Reach of the 'Bombers'
The 'Bombers' gang's criminal operations extended far beyond London. Their influence reached globally, including a significant presence in Merseyside. This foothold in the region was crucial for one of the largest cocaine plots ever conceived in Britain. Much of this operation was managed from a seemingly ordinary phone box located on Old Hall Street in Liverpool's city centre.
The history of this organized crime group (OCG) is extensive. Its former head was Huseyin Baybasin, who gained notoriety as the "Pablo Escobar of Europe" and was nicknamed "the Emperor." He controlled a substantial portion of heroin exports from Afghanistan during the 1970s.
Huseyin Baybasin, previously based in Amsterdam, is currently serving a life sentence in the Netherlands. His convictions include drug trafficking and conspiracy to murder. The scale and structure of his gang's operations were undeniable. Huseyin later claimed connections with high-ranking Turkish government officials, as well as various intelligence services and militia groups.
Context: The Baybasin Family
After Huseyin's imprisonment, his brother, Abdullah, allegedly took over the family business. Abdullah, who used a wheelchair after being shot by a rival, was known for recruiting young individuals to extort businesses within Kurdish and Turkish communities in London. He was initially jailed for 22 years in 2006 for blackmail and perverting the course of justice, with an additional 10 years for drug smuggling. Despite claims he headed a £10 billion criminal organization, he was later cleared on appeal and deported to Turkey due to insufficient prosecution evidence.
The £4 Billion Liverpool Cocaine Conspiracy
A third brother, Mehmet Baybasin, focused his criminal activities on the north of England. He collaborated with a Merseyside gang to import vast quantities of cocaine from South America. Court proceedings detailed a "sophisticated" plot between 2008 and 2009 to transport a 40-tonne shipment of cocaine from Colombia to Britain.
Paul Taylor, a resident of Eldonian Village, led the Liverpool side of this conspiracy. He notably used the Old Hall Street phone box as his primary "office" for coordinating operations. Their plan involved shipping the drugs by sea from Central America, with Venezuela eventually chosen as the departure point after considering Honduras. The illicit cargo was to be hidden within tins of fish or wood pellets.
- Key Players: Mehmet Baybasin (London/international link) and Paul Taylor (Liverpool leader).
- Targeted Shipment: Between two and three tonnes of cocaine per attempt.
- Concealment Methods: Hidden in fish tins or wood pellets.
- Estimated Value: If all cocaine reached Britain and was cut, its street value could have been approximately £4 billion.
Law Enforcement Intervention
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) played a critical role in disrupting this plot. Officers intercepted communications between Baybasin and Taylor, monitoring their calls and observing their meetings at a café and Taylor's home. The gang made three attempts to import the drugs, but internal conflicts and logistical errors, combined with SOCA's intervention, prevented the shipments from reaching the UK, despite hundreds of thousands of pounds already changing hands.
In July 2008, the gang made another attempt to arrange a massive cocaine shipment. Baybasin leveraged his existing international drug contacts to supply the two to three tonnes of cocaine to Taylor's Merseyside network. He travelled to South America to meet with cartel representatives, arranging for the cocaine to be bought at a wholesale price. This cocaine would then be sold to other criminal groups, who would dilute it before selling it on, either to other criminals or directly on the streets.
Sentencing and Ongoing Gang Conflict
Paul Taylor, described as the head of the Liverpool crime group, received a 22-year prison sentence. Mehmet Baybasin was characterized as a participant "at the highest level in a drugs and conspiracy and international drug trafficking on a vast scale." He was sentenced to 30 years in jail. Ten other individuals involved in the plot were collectively jailed for nearly 150 years.
The London gang feud continued even after these major drug busts. By the time of the Dalston shooting, it is believed the Armagan family had taken leadership of the Hackney Turks, while the Eren family led their Tottenham counterparts. Both families have seen leading members murdered or fatally injured in targeted shootings across London and Europe.
Justice for the Shooting
While the gunman and weapon from the East London shooting were never found, the getaway driver, Javon Riley, 33, was convicted. He was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and three counts of attempted murder. Riley received a life sentence with a minimum term of 34 years.
The sentencing judge stated:
"You had a leading role as a planner and a spotter and this was an act in revenge for previous incidents."This conviction brought some measure of justice for the victims, particularly the nine-year-old girl and her family, whose lives were irrevocably altered by this act of gang violence tied to a vast criminal network.
Impact on the Victim
The nine-year-old girl still has a bullet lodged in her brain. This tragic outcome underscores the severe human cost of gang-related violence and large-scale drug trafficking operations that span continents and impact local communities.