Pubdate: Sun, 29 Aug 2004 Source: Observer, The (UK) Copyright: 2004 The Observer Contact: http://www.observer.co.uk/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/315 Author: Tony Thompson, The Observer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin) GANGLAND REPRISAL KILLINGS PLUNGE CITY INTO OPEN WAR Tony Thompson Reports On The Spiralling Violence Between Rival Drug Lords Which Has Left Three Men Dead and Liverpool Families In Terror In the balmy sunshine of an August afternoon, the Grizedale estate in Everton, north Liverpool, comes across as a perfectly pleasant place to live. The neat rows of terraced two-storey houses are painted in pretty pastel colours, the small gardens are beautifully manicured, there is little graffiti and expensive cars sit in many of the driveways. But appearances can be deceptive. The estate, which sits in one of the most deprived areas in Britain, is at the heart of a vicious gang war which has left at least three men dead and seen dozens of others wounded. At the last count more than 250 of Grizedale's residents - around one in eight of the estate's population - have been arrested for drugs, weapons or violence. Hundreds of weapons have been recovered from the estate including a powerful sniper rifle complete with telescopic sight and ammunition. Despite this the shootings and car bombings have continued, leading local politicians to criticise police tactics and declare the situation to be 'out of control'. With police resources stretched to cover two massive festivals in the city this bank holiday weekend, many residents of north Liverpool fear a new wave of violence over the trade in heroin and crack cocaine. The feud between drugs gangs based in Everton and their rivals in nearby Kirkdale had been simmering for years but hit the headlines last September when the home of former salesman Tony Richardson was sprayed with gunfire during a drive-by shooting. Richardson, whose fiancee is actress Jennifer Ellison, recent winner of ITV's Hell's Kitchen reality programme, is something of a local legend. Wrongly accused of taking part in a gun attack on a prominent local family linked to the Kirkdale gang (he was arrested and held in custody for four months before the case was dropped), he has been inadvertently caught up in the violence and targeted by the drugs gangs ever since. There is said to be a UKP50,000 contract on his head though there is no suggestion he is anything other than a victim of the feud. A few days after the attack on Richardson's home a massive car bomb blew up outside Club 051 in Liverpool's city centre, shattering windows in nearby hotels, shops and offices. Miraculously no one was hurt. There was another lucky escape six days later when a nailbomb was thrown into the middle of the packed Dickie Lewis pub in Kirkdale. The device, which skidded across the pub's dancefloor, had been lit but failed to detonate. Police have little doubt that if the bomb, filled with razor-sharp shards of metal, had exploded it would have cost lives. In January 19-year-old Danny McDonald, supposedly responsible for the Dickie Lewis attack, was shot dead in the Royal Oak pub. Four months later on 6 April Craig Barker, also 19, died on the edge of the Grizedale. He and three friends were driving out of the estate when a gunman sprayed their car with 18 bullets. Barker was hit repeatedly in the chest, the driver was hit several times in the legs and another passenger, Mark Richardson - younger brother of Tony - was struck in the back. The third passenger escaped without injury. Revenge was swift. On 11 April 19-year-old Michael Singleton was gunned down in Kirkdale after several men burst through the back door of his house and shot him in the head and chest. He bled to death on the kitchen floor. A month later father-of-three David Regan was gunned down in broad daylight on the forecourt of the car-wash he owned in the Old Swan area of Liverpool. Masked gunmen shot him in the back four times. His brother, Michael, was also injured in the attack and has been moved away from the area for his own safety. Police responded with a massive show of force, setting up a mobile police station in the centre of Grizedale to co-ordinate raids, removing graffiti and handing out personal attack alarms to residents. They quickly identified 18 key figures behind the dispute and set about arresting them and their associates. They include five brothers from the estate who cannot be named for legal reasons but are believed to be major figures in the local underworld. The eldest, just 26, is now awaiting trial for unlawful wounding after allegedly slashing a police officer with a knife during a drugs raid. Three of the brothers face separate trials for making threats to kill while the final member of the family is a co-defendant in an upcoming case of alleged kidnap and wounding. By the end of July it seemed that police had the situation under control and the mobile police station was taken away. But then came the shooting of 26-year-old Anthony Wright. He and his girlfriend were getting out of their car close to his Kirkdale home when a masked gunman ran towards him and fired four shots into his chest at point blank range. Wright, a semi-professional footballer with no criminal connections, is believed to have been targeted because his cousin is on an attempted murder charge. He remains in a serious condition. Then on 12 August a massive car bomb exploded outside the police station in Walton Lane, strewing wreckage more than 100 metres. Despite hundreds of arrests all three gangland murders and most of the shooting incidents remain unsolved and police are reluctant to confirm links between them for fear of jeopardising future legal proceedings. Questioned over recent events Chief Superintendent Mike Langdon, area commander for Liverpool North, told The Observer: 'Major investigations are ongoing in respect of the incidents that you have referred to. In respect of each matter a significant line of investigation is underway to identify any potential links to a small number of key criminal players.' But Peter Kilfoyle, MP for Liverpool Walton, believes the current tactics provide only a short-term solution. 'Nothing that has happened so far is going to cure the problem,' he said. 'The people who have been arrested will eventually return and the problems will start again. There are several areas in the north of Liverpool which used to be decent but are rapidly going down the pan. There is an ingrained culture which says the worst possible thing you can do is become a grass and that is not being addressed.' Since the clampdown, recorded crime on the Grizedale has actually started to rise. This, say police, is a sign that their campaign has been successful. In the past residents rarely reported crimes because they were too scared of reprisals; the fact the figures are rising is proof of growing confidence. But for many residents the improvement in the quality of life is not expected to last. 'The kids round here, they're only young but they don't believe there is anything for them except selling drugs,' said one mother-of-three speaking on condition of anonymity. 'And so long as there's a demand, there's always going to be someone who wants to make money by providing the supply.' - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager