violent drugs war 29-year-old Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll, an alleged associate of the Daniels family

29-year-old Kevin “Gerbil” Carroll, an alleged associate of the Daniels family, a Glasgow crime gang, pointing to possible links with a violent drugs war and vendettas between rival families. Another three men who were in the vehicle with the victim at the time of the assault were uninjured. Strathclyde Police said they believed the dead man was the intended target, and that the assailants had made off from the car park in a black or dark car.The incident left many shoppers stranded when the police sealed off the entrance and cordoned off the car park.
One witness described leaving the supermarket to be confronted with horrifying scenes of the dead man slumped in the backseat of the Audi. The glass of the back windscreen had been shattered by bullets. “I was inside the store at the checkout, paying, when I heard the gunshots, but I didn’t realise that’s what it was at the time – I thought it was just firecrackers or something. “I came out and the car was right in front of me with the back window shot in. The car door was open and you could just see his legs hanging out the side. “The paramedics were around him, but he was obviously dead. You just don’t expect this sort of thing in Robroyston.”
Dozens of shoppers, many of them elderly, were herded into the main foyer and kept there until almost 4pm while forensic teams examined the crime scene, spoke to witnesses and erected a white tent around the damaged vehicle.Some customers who had left the store before police closed off the entrance spent hours sitting in their cars after police redirected them into the car park while they conducted preliminary investigations.A builder who had popped into the supermarket for a sandwich found himself unable to return to work.“I only went in for something to eat, and I’ve no idea when I’m going to get back out now,” he told The Herald. “The police are just telling us to stay here.”
Detective Superintendent Michael Orr said last night: “There has been much speculation about this shooting and indeed the victim. “However, our priority is tracing those responsible. Although we believe that this was not a random attack and that he was the intended target, it does not lessen the severity of this crime. “He was someone’s son, loved one and friend and this murder will be thoroughly investigated with a team of highly trained officers.”He said they believed three men had carried out the attack, and urged anyone with information to contact the police.Mr Carroll has survived two previous attempts on his life, including a high-profile attack in Bishopbriggs in November 2006 when he and friend, Ross Sherlock, were ambushed in the street by gunmen posing as police officers and was left fighting for his life after being shot in the stomach at close range.

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Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll was blasted five times in the back of the head

Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll was blasted five times in the back of the head as he sat in a car, yards from the main door while shoppers looked on.Detectives fear Glasgow's turf war between the Daniels and the Lyons will now escalate into a spate of revenge attacks.A police source said: "Gerbil was a big name and his killing is a huge deal.
"The fact the shooters were brazen enough to do it at lunchtime in a supermarket
"It's doubtful that the Daniels will let this lie and it's likely to mean dangerous times ahead."Carroll was sitting with three cronies in a black Audi car when he met his death just before 1.30pm in Robroyston, Glasgow.It is understood two handguns were used and police were last night hunting three men.The gunmen sped off in a dark-coloured car and would have been able to make a quick getaway on to the M80.Armed officers sealed off the car park. within minutes and shoppers were told to stay inside the store or in their cars.Stunned ASDA workers looked down on the murder scene from the first-floor staff canteen.The car in which Carroll was sitting was covered with a white tent as forensics experts combed the scene.An underworld source said Carroll, 29, was lured to his death under the pretence of a meeting with associates.Carroll, 29, was a key player in the Daniel vs Lyons feud which has resulted in countless shootings, slashings and fire attacks.Detectives were convinced he was behind a recent string of savage kidnappings.The thugs responsible were known as the Alien Abduction Gang because their traumatised victims told police they could not remember anything.It is thought the hit on Carroll may have been retribution for one of the kidnappings.Detective Superintendent Michael Orr said yesterday: "A man has been shot in broad daylight in a very public place. It is imperative that we trace those responsible who have no regard for public safety.
"We believe the victim was the intended target. However, I would like to reassure the public that a high police presence will be maintained in the area and ext ra resources will be deployed to trace the suspects."Carroll's on-off partner was Kelly Green, daughter of crime clan boss Jamie Daniel.Six years ago, Carroll was shot as the Daniel-Lyons feud erupted.The spat between the Lyons and Daniels is thought to have been reignited in November 2006 when the grave of eight-year-old leukaemia victim Garry Lyons was vandalised. He was the son of clan boss Eddie Lyons.
That year, Carroll survived a second shooting when he and pal Ross Sherlock were gunned down in Auchinairn, Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire.He was also linked with the triple shooting in which Michael Lyons was killed at Apple Row motors in Lambhill, Glasgow, that December.Carroll admitted one charge relating to the stolen Army weapons and ammo used and was jailed for 18 months.In September last year, Strathclyde's Gangs Task Force seized £4000 from Carroll - also known as McCabe - in Maryhill, Glasgow.Yesterday, more than 50 officers were dispatched the murder scene. A force helicopter hovered above the scene and staff and shoppers and were kept within the cordon until around 5pm.Police were last night studying CCTV footage.
In a statement on ASDA's Twitter site yesterday a company spokesman said: "We're sorry to say there's been a fatal shooting incident outside our store in Robroyston, Glasgow, this afternoon."We don't know the full details yet, but the police are in charge and are dealing with the situation and we're helping with their investigation."The shooting is believed to be the first fatal gangland hit in daylight since drug baron Jim McDonald was gunned down in Cardonald, Glasgow, in May 2007.

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Hells Angels and Outlaws armed with knives, were involved in the "battle" at the airport.

Police have issued a picture of a man they are trying to trace in connection with a riot inside an airport terminal.Detectives from West Midlands Police are trying to find 46-year-old Joseph Lagrue to speak to him in connection with the disorder at Birmingham International Airport on January 20, 2008.In June last year seven members of two rival biker gangs were each jailed for six years for their part in the "terrifying" riot.
A trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard how dozens of Hells Angels and Outlaws, some armed with knives, were involved in the "battle" at the airport.Neil Harrison, 46, Paul Arlett, 35, Mark Price, 50, Sean Timmins, 38, Leonard Hawthorne, 52, Mark Moseley, 46, and Jeremy Ball, 46, all from addresses across the West Midlands, were each jailed for six years by Judge Patrick Thomas in June after being previously convicted by a jury.Price, Harrison, Moseley and Ball were Outlaws, and Arlett, Timmins, and Hawthorne, were Hells Angels, the court heard.An eighth defendant, 47-year-old Mark Larner, of Tudor Road in Upper Gornal, West Midlands, fled to South Africa, but handed himself in in November and was jailed for six years.West Midlands Police said Joseph Lagrue was currently featured on the force's Most Wanted site.

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Lawrence “Butch” Watson, a 23-year-old reputed street gangster, admitting to setting up the 25-year-old Williams

One of the co-defendents in the slaying of aspiring musician Carl Williams pleaded guilty on Monday to murder and robbery. Lawrence “Butch” Watson, a 23-year-old reputed street gangster, admitting to setting up the 25-year-old Williams by luring him to an apartment complex on June 23, where he was robbed and shot dead. Watson also admitted to a gunpoint robbery earlier in the same day at the Horizons Complex. In exchange for the plea, Watson's sentence will be capped at a minimum of 22 years to life in prison. Watson's attorney will be allowed, however, to argue for a range of 20 years to life.

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shortage of guns in Britain is forcing rival gangsters to rent the same weapons

shortage of guns in Britain is forcing rival gangsters to rent the same weapons from middlemen who supply the bad guys, the Mirror reports."We are seeing the same guns being used over and over again," Detective Chief Superintendent Paul James, of the National Ballistics Intelligence Service (Nabis), said. Officials credit a clamp-down on suppliers with putting fewer guns on the street, the Mirror reports.

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Georgi Slavov has been admitted for emergency surgery at Plovdiv's University Hospital St George

Georgi Slavov has been admitted for emergency surgery at Plovdiv's University Hospital St George, according to media reports. The duty surgeon has announced that Slavov had suffered a mild skull trauma, but has not specified a reason for the injury.Three security guards are guarding Slavov's room in the neurosurgery ward of the hospital. Access even by his two lawyers has not been permitted.Eyewitnesses have stated that Georgi Slavov was admitted to hospital at 10 pm on Monday evening. According to initial reports, he became unwell while in the 2nd regional police station, where he was under detention.As reported earlier by Novinite.com, prosecutors in the southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv had laid charges against 26-year-old Georgi Slavov aka Zhoro Glavata ("The Head") and one of his guards, Plamen Ivanov, following a fracas at a night club on Saturday at around midnight.
The son of Stoil Slavov, once a leading member of the notorious SIC group, and who has himself assumed the role of gangster, has been charged with aggravated hooliganism. Bulgarian law allows for up to 5 years' imprisonment for this criminal charge.Moreover, the Plovdiv prosecutors ordered the measure for detention for both "The Head" and his guard to be extended to 72 hours.The incident had occurred when a dispute broke out between Georgi Slavov and his guards, and Vladimir Arabadzhiev, son of local hotelier Vetko Arabadzhiev. In the ensuing melee firearms were used.The incident, which occurred at the "Bedroom" nightclub, did not become serious, with no reports of injury. It has been alleged that the reason for the scandal was playmate Nikoleta Lozanova. She has stated that she had nothing to do with the fight.When questioned by police, Arabadzhiev and Slavov told radically different versions of the incident. Arabadzhiev claimed that he had left the disco before the fight broke out, and did not take part in it. He also said he did not know "The Head".Slavov himself, however, stated that Arabadzhiev, his guards and his friends had started the quarrel, as Vetko Arabadjiev's son had to do some "paying back" since the summer. According to him, the root cause of their conflict is precisely the girlfriend Nikoleta Lozanova, with whom they had both had a relationship, Plovdiv media have reported.

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Lane County judge denied the appeal of the woman known as "Gang Mom."

Lane County judge denied the appeal of the woman known as "Gang Mom."Getting out of prison early was a possibility for Mary Thompson under the new "earned time" law.
Thompson is serving 25 years for the murder of Eugene teenager Aaron Iturra back in 1994. Friday, a judge made it clear she is going to serve as much of that term as possible.The smile never left Janyce Iturra's face after the judge said no to shortening the sentence of her son's murderer."And for her to speak to me, and not to the crowd or the attorneys, but to me personally, it made me feel like she really did understand what this does to victims throughout the state of Oregon."The Iturra case highlights the nearly 4,800 cases re-opening in Oregon county courts because of new law 3508. It's also re-opening old wounds."You finally move on, things are going ok, you finally get your family back together, and bam, the system just bites me one more time."The bill aims to give a 10 percent reduction to prisoners' sentences for their non-violent crimes. But the judge determined Thompson's non-violent charges of burglary and hindering prosecution were connected to the murder, and therefore not excusable.
"It just does my heart good to know Mary is denied and will do that extra 10 months that it might have changed," Iturra said.Crime Victims United, a victim advocate group, hopes this outcome sets the standard for upcoming hearings. President Steve Doell said all you have to do is look at the unintended consequences the state of Washington is dealing with related to a similar law there."The property crime rate for each indidivual that got the extra earn time went up 4.7 times per offender. So this is not good public policy, this is not good for law-abiding citizens."Thompson has already received a reduction of 20 percent, which is available to prisoners who behave, so Iturra said she was shocked that another reduction was considered. This bill is going back to the special session next month for re-consideration.

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feud between two factions of the same street gang

Crime seems to have become a sporting event of its own.

The crime wave is the presumed result of a feud between two factions of the same street gang. The neighborhood -- Nickerson Gardens -- is Los Angeles' version of no man's land; one of the city's most dangerous and volatile housing projects. And five dead gang-bangers in Watts don't count for much in a city celebrating a drop in crime that has made Los Angeles its safest in two decades.Enter the Wrecking Crew for Christ Holiness Church Trauma Center. I'm not making that up. That's the name of a South Los Angeles congregation heavy on reformed ex-cons. About 50 members staged a march through Watts' housing projects on Saturday, on a mission to stop the carnage.There was Pastor Michael L. Rowles with a megaphone, hawking his redemption mantra. Middle-aged women in sweat pants, waving and shouting Hallelujah. Young men with tattoos on their necks, their baggy white T-shirts scrawled with "Jesus is Real."When all else fails, we pray, I thought. I grabbed a notebook and fell in line.
Too many have died. We've come to let you know that somebody cares. . . . We must not be afraid.Cops on bicycles cleared traffic. An LAPD car led the march into Nickerson Gardens, a marcher waving a giant cross from the front window.
Cooperation between residents and police is being credited for part of the city's crime drop. But gang crimes are tough to crack; the LAPD has not made arrests in the Nickerson Gardens killings.Fear is the culprit, the marchers told me. "If you go into Nickerson Gardens after 6 o'clock, you wouldn't think anybody lives there," said Carl Lee, a former drug dealer, now a minister and fitness trainer. "People are too scared to go outside."
Scared to be shot by gang-bangers; scared to be questioned by the cops.The police "are doing the best they can," Lee said. "But you have five killings and people are afraid to talk. You'll be known as a snitch; you'll wind up dead; you'll have to find another place to live."That's why we as a church have to go over there and begin to pray."As we walked, residents trickled out of their apartments. Some waved and shouted their thanks. Others looked on blankly, unsure what to make of the raucous display."One thing's for sure," one marcher told me. "With all these police officers around, there ain't gone be no shooting for at least this hour."
The devil is alive!The killing must stop. The things going down in our community are wrong. . . . Oh God, turn our sons around.John King knows prayer isn't enough. He grew up in the neighborhood and works now as a project director for the city's Housing Authority. He told me he felt inspired marching. The demonstration of faith "helps people internally," he said. "They can look in the mirror and say, 'I can make better decisions.' That's the first step toward change."But the second step relies on resources to restore programs like King's Vocabulary League (every basketball player had to bring a vocabulary word to games and practice) lost during a decade of shrinking funding.

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Glasgow firm Spyguard's general manager Gavin Scott, 64, and directors Paddy Dyer, 44, and Gary Fitzpatrick, 46, have all had their licences removed.

GANGLAND security firms are on the run after police chiefs started sharing secret files with industry watchdogs, we can reveal today.Strathclyde Police are handing over intelligence on rogue firms to the Security Industry Authority (SIA) - leading to dozens of people losing their licences because of underworld links.One company have already lost their SIA approved contractor status.One security source said: "The SIA have failed to clean up the industry partly because it hasn't got enough power."It's fantastic the police are now sharing what they know about these people. If that continues, it could make a real difference."Glasgow firm Spyguard's general manager Gavin Scott, 64, and directors Paddy Dyer, 44, and Gary Fitzpatrick, 46, have all had their licences removed.The SIA acted after police told them how the firm used intimidation to win contracts.Former Army sergeant and weapons instructor Scott unsucessfully appealed against losing his licence at Glasgow Sheriff Court.In a written judgement, Sheriff John Brown said: "Such information, in my view, entitles the SIA to take the action they have to suspend the licence in the public interest."Scott, from Yoker, Glasgow, said he had no idea if his employers were involved in organised crime.He added: "I'm being punished not for who I am but for who the police say I work for. Does anyone know who they work for? "I earn £300 a week as a supervisor. Does that sound like someone who is a bigtime crook? I was 22 years in the Gordon Highlanders. I have no criminal record yet am being treated like one."It seems everyone is being tarred with the same brush."
Others who have had their licences revoked include gangster Eli Webb, 44, who has walked free on five attempted murder charges.He lost his licence a week after the it was revealed he was linked to "roll wars" - in which bakery firms were targeted in a campaign of intimidation.An industry source said: "It's incredible that someone like Webb was even licensed in the first place."Barry Dempster - a 29-year-old tanning salon boss linked to Pegasus Security - has also lost his licence. He is the son of underworld figure Bobby 'The Devil' Dempster. Boss Stephen Palombo, 41, had won approved contractor status for his firm X714 by convincing the SIA they were legitimate.But X714 were stripped of the status because of their links to Willie Bennett, 50, an associate of the Daniel crime clan.Palombo, who also runs a drug-testing business for employers, was unavailable last night. A spokeswoman said: "He's out the country and X714 is no longer in business. I don't know the name Willie Bennett."The SIA also moved to end Motherwellbased Izon Security's approved contractor status over alleged links to drug dealer Thomas Allan, 50.But the firm successfully challenged the move at Hamilton Sheriff Court.A police source said: "We can now spell out in detail the connections between criminals in the background and the people fronting and running the firms."That allows the SIA to review the suitability of individual licence holders and any firms who have gained approved contractor status. There's a lot more to come."Those stripped of their licences are now barred by law from working in security.Lawyer Jim Kelly said he planned a second appeal on Scott's behalf.He added: "I believe that the police and the SIA are acting illegally in the way they target people they suspect are involved in crime."If people pass all the tests laid down by the SIA, then they should be allowed to hold a licence."

The SIA said: "We can suspend a licence if we think there is a risk to the public."

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Salford gangster David Cullen, 29, lavished thousands of pounds on homes, cars and jewellery

armed robber was found to be living a life of luxury to rival Premier league footballers after he was caught carrying out a bank raid.Salford gangster David Cullen, 29, lavished thousands of pounds on homes, cars and jewellery for himself and his family, a police investigation discovered.Among the luxury items he bought during a three year spending spree were a £30,000 Franck Muller watch and a Harley Davidson 4x4 truck imported from the United States.He also shared his fortune with his mother, brothers and girlfriend, treating them to cars and foreign holidays, despite having no obvious source of income.But the high life came to an end when Cullen was caught carrying out a terrifying bank robbery in Preston in April 2006.
His gang, armed with a sledgehammer and two loaded guns, stole £136,000 from a Lloyds TSB branch but were arrested soon afterwards.Cullen is now serving ten years for his part in the robbery but police were suspicious about how he had funded his luxury lifestyle and launched a separate investigation into his finances.They found that in the the three years leading up to the Preston robbery Cullen splashed out:
A £40,000 deposit on a plush new semi in leafy Prestwich.£27,000 in cash to refurbish the house.£20,000 on a Harley Davidson 4x4 truck imported from the US.
A £30,000 Franck Muller watch.A £76,000 a holiday home in Florida.A fleet of cars, paying in cash for a £28,000 VW Toureg, a £6,000 Fiat Stilo (for his girlfriend), a £25,000 7 series BMW, a £21,000 Porsche 911 and also £8,000 on a Vauxhall Vectra.
A £3,000 insurance bill for the BMW was paid in full up frontExpensive holidays to Spain and Dubai for him and his girlfriend.An £80,000 deposit when he moved to a bigger house in Swinton.The spending spree began in 2003, shortly after Cullen was found not guilty of a £302,000 bank robbery in Bolton.Cullen, formerly of Heaton Street, Salford, has now pleaded guilty to money laundering and conspiracy to defraud, effectively admitting that he funded his extravagant purchases from the proceeds of crime. He could be given an extended prison sentence on top of the ten years he is serving when he is sentenced in the next few weeks.His mother, girlfriend and two brothers will also be sentenced after they pleaded guilty to a string of offences.Cullen's girlfriend, Natasha Smyth, 27, of Harbourne Avenue, Worsley, admitted benefits fraud and money laundering.Cullen's older brother Anthony Cullen, a former footballer known as Tony, 36, of Myrtle Grove, Whitefield, worked as a loan shark as well as helping his brother hide and spend the dirty cash. He admitted housing benefit fraud, conspiracy to defraud and also operating as an unlicensed money lender.David Cullen's younger brother, joiner Arron Cullen, 27, of Rydal Grove, Prestwich, admitted money laundering by acting as a front through which David bought and sold the Prestwich and Swinton houses.David's mother, Bernadette Cullen, created a false identity to buy two homes she owned in Salford and Prestwich, and then used her real name to sponge off the state by claiming she was a tenant. She falsely claimed housing and council tax benefits worth around £23,000.
Bernadette Cullen, 55, of Heaton Street, Salford, admitted conspiracy to defraud, two charges of dishonestly making false statements and converting or concealing criminal property by buying and then selling a £76,000 holiday home in Florida with David's money.Det Sgt John Mulvihill said: "This has been a long and complex investigation into David Cullen and his family. The investigation has untangled criminality going back to the 1990's. David Cullen is a professional armed robber and his greed and extravagant lifestyle was the downfall for his family. Cullen's ability to live cash rich and his determination to remain invisible to the authorities led to the investigation into the wider family unit."Evidence revealed that not only did family members assist him with laundering the proceeds of his criminality but they also had criminal enterprises of their own."His mother's business was benefit fraud and his elder brother Anthony earned his crust through benefit fraud and loan sharking."Greater Manchester Police are committed to bringing to justice families that are willing to assist in the laundering of criminal property. This investigation uncovered the lengths that certain individuals will go to in order to conceal their proceeds of crime but it also showed the lengths that GMP will go to by working in partnership with local authorities to expose, pursue and prosecute those who are willing to enjoy the benefits of a lavish lifestyle financed by crime. This is what the public of Greater Manchester wants and expects."
In July, the M.E.N. reported how another Salford family was also hauled before the courts for enjoying the criminal earnings of robber Peter Anderson, who was in Cullen's gang which raided the Preston bank. Anderson's girlfriend Danielle Bardsley was given a suspended jail sentence for living the high life on her boyfriend's ill-gotten gains.

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