Four hundred police smash 'Brixton gang' in dawn raids and seize £13k in cash and drugs

 
Jeremy Selwyn
Kiran Randhawa10 December 2013
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Police today arrested 17 suspected members of the notorious GAS gang based in Brixton in 21 raids carried out at 5am by more than 400 officers.

Another suspect was held last night. They were all arrested for conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine. But detectives alleged they were all “violent” individuals suspected of involvement in a series of crimes from robbery to immigration offences.

In one of the raids, witnessed by the Standard, police in riot gear stormed into the house of a female suspected member.

Around 20 officers with the Met’s Territorial Support Group ran into the Brixton property on a quiet residential street after breaking down the front door with a battering ram.

The suspect, aged 36, could be heard shouting in an upstairs bedroom before she and her boyfriend were handcuffed and led out while searches with police sniffer dogs continued.

The raids, led by Scotland Yard’s Trident’s Central Gangs Unit, took place at addresses in Lambeth, Croydon and Sutton.

Assisted by officers from Lambeth’s Gang Unit, the Met’s dogs unit and Air Support Unit officers, Trident recovered at least £10,000 worth of crack cocaine and heroin as well as £3,000 in cash from the operation. The suspects, 17 men and one woman, all aged between 18 and 40, were taken to a London police station for questioning.

At least six killings have been linked to the GAS gang and in the last two years eight suspected members of the gang, based in the estates of Angell Town in Brixton, have been jailed for murder or attempted murder.

Last year, three GAS members were sentenced to minimum jail terms of between 14 and 17 years for the attempted murder of a rival gang member and grievous bodily harm in an attack which left five-year-old Thusha Kamaleswaran paralysed from the waist down.

The schoolgirl was shot in the chest while she played in the aisle of her uncle’s shop in Stockwell Road.

Detective Chief Inspector Tim Champion, Trident Central Gangs Unit, said: “Although drugs was the target today, this was an operation targeting the most violent offenders.”

He added: “Criminal activity has blighted the local area, causing misery to residents and creating a hostile place to live due to the level of violence and anti-social behaviour.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in