MyLondon has put together a timeline to help keep track of the decades old feud
A man responsible for the shooting of a nine-year-old girl in a bloody London drugs war is set to be sentenced today (Friday, September 12), but how did we get here? Javon Riley, 33, claimed to have no knowledge of the feud between the Hackney Bombers and the Tottenham Boys, two Turkish organised crime groups who have been warring in East and North London since the early 2000s.
During his Old Bailey trial, Riley told jurors he was acting as a hired stickup man for a smash and grab drugs raid, but he refused to name the gunman on a Ducati Monster motorbike who opened fire on three men and a little girl outside Evin restaurant in Kingsland High Street in Dalston on May 29 last year. Riley was convicted on three counts of attempted murder and one count of GBH.
The gunman has not been caught, but jurors were told Riley had played a “key role” before, during and after the shooting. He had carried out reconnaissance of the restaurant before the attack, scouted for potential targets and drove the gunman away in a stolen car, which was later burnt out.
Beytullah Gunduz, allegedly linked to the Hackney Bombers – also known as the Hackney Turks – and thought to be the intended target, would later tell The Times of the shooting: “I wish it was me.” Less than two months later, the most prominent member of the Tottenham Boys – also known as the Tottenham Turks – Izzet Eren was shot dead outside a café in Moldova. The shootings looked like a tit for tat attack, but their origins stretch back all the way to the late 1970s.
MyLondon has put together the timeline below to detail the faces and stories behind London’s Turkish underworld.
Want to contact Callum about a story? Please email [email protected] or WhatsApp/Signal +447580255582
Sign up to our London Crimewatch WhatsApp community for the latest major court updates and breaking news delivered straight to your phone. Sign up HERE.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the MyLondon team. We also treat our subscribers to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To unsubscribe, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’. If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
