English and
Scottish crime groups, as well as
Irish gangs and
Turkish Cypriot descent (such as the
Arif family) find their origin in tough, impoverished white
working class neighbourhoods. They are largely family-run organised criminal gangs involved in many illegal activities in their respective areas. Even with the influx of foreign gangsters as well as with the rise of homegrown gangs consisting of minorities, white British groups are still the major concern for law enforcement and are active in the major British urban centres. Due to the restructuring of the East End, and the continued influx of migrants to the area, traditional
Cockney families have moved to
South London, parts of
North London (mainly
Islington), and the
counties surrounding London (such as
Essex and
Kent). Working-class neighbourhoods are often still home to family-based crime groups involved in
drug trafficking,
extortion,
prostitution,
armed robbery,
contract killing,
money laundering,
counterfeiting and
kidnapping. Some of the more notorious South London crime families include the 'Brindles' and the 'Walkers', while the
Arifs are the most notorious crime family from London's south-eastern neighbourhoods. The Hunt Crime Syndicate, otherwise known as the Canning Town Cartel, led by
David Hunt is one of the biggest London crime firms. Hunt has been described by Metropolitan Police sources as being "too big to bring down" and runs an extensive criminal empire that has so far evaded significant penetration from law enforcement. The syndicate is linked to violence, fraud, prostitution, money laundering and murder. In 2016 details of a plot to assassinate three police officers who were investigating Hunt were revealed in full detail in an episode of BBC's Panorama. For a £1 million contract, Hunt had summoned Yardie hitman Carl 'The Dread' Robinson to a boat in Marbella and instructed him to kill the officers. Despite the detectives being tipped off there was a contract against them, their superiors, instead of investigating this, suspended the three officers and investigated them for corruption. They were later cleared of any wrongdoing. Another well-known London crime family is the
Clerkenwell crime syndicate in Islington, also known as the 'Adams family'. They are allegedly one of the most powerful in the
United Kingdom. Media reports have credited them with wealth of up to £200 million. During the 1980s Terence "Terry" George Adams formed the syndicate with his brothers Thomas "Tommy" Sean Adams and Patrick "Patsy" Daniel John Adams as its financier and enforcer respectively. The brothers were born to Irish parents, part of a large family of 11 children who grew up in
Barnsbury,
Islington.
Liverpudlian mafia The
Liverpudlian mafia is an informal category of
drug trafficking cartels based in the city of
Liverpool. In the late 1970s, crime boss
Tommy “Tacker” Comerford formed Britain’s first cartel, which would come to be known as the "Liverpool Mafia", a group of white, middle-aged former armed robbers who, using corrupt port officials and protected by corrupt police, smuggled major quantities of
amphetamine,
cannabis,
cocaine,
heroin and
LSD through the Liverpool docks. The Liverpool mafia gained strength by brokering a strategic alliance with young black gangs following the
1981 Toxteth riots, and became the richest crime group in the
United Kingdom. The cartel protected its power base by forging close links to the
IRA and, in particular, a contract-killing outfit called “The Cleaners”, a group of paramilitaries believed to be responsible for more than 20 drug-related assassinations around Liverpool. The Liverpool mafia has had several powerful groups over the years, some of which have worked together, or fought over control of the cartel at different times. Notable figures include
Curtis Warren,
John Haase, the
Fitzgibbons, the
Huyton Firm, the
Clarkes and
Colin “Smigger” Smith.
Curtis Warren, formerly
Interpols Target Number One, became one of the biggest drug lords in
Europe, flooding the continent with drugs. Colin Smith, who had an estimated personal fortune of over £200 million, was executed at close range with a pump action shotgun. His assassination was believed by police to be the first hit sanctioned by the
Colombian Cartels on UK soil. It was also reported his death was ordered by various top Liverpool gangsters who had discussed killing Smith and taking over his business. Organised crime and
drug trafficking in the city is now largely controlled by a secretive cartel known as the
Huyton Firm, also known as the Cantril Farm Cartel, formed in the 1990s and run by two brothers from the
Huyton area of Liverpool. The gang has flooded the UK with cocaine and has been responsible for serious violence across Liverpool. They are internationally active and present in the same circles as Europe's significant criminal factions from
Ireland,
Russia and
North Africa. The
National Crime Agency, Britain's version of the FBI, have been trying to convict them for over 20 years. A senior
Merseyside Police detective said that the brothers operated on a different level to mainstream Merseyside criminals. In 2002 a young man named Christopher “Buster” Brady from Liverpool city centre went to work for the gang in southern
Spain. Later that same year, his remains washed up on a gravel beach near
Benalmadena. He had been tortured, suffocated and had his lower legs amputated. The man is rumoured to have fallen foul of enforcers who worked for the Cantril Farm cartel. In contrast to London's crime families, Liverpool crime groups are less territorial and more internationally active. The trafficking of
cocaine and
heroin to the British mainland as well as to countries like
Spain,
Portugal and the
Netherlands is the main source of income for
Scouse crime groups.
Weapon trafficking and
contract killing are activities of choice as well. Liverpudlian crime groups have forged close links with Irish criminal syndicates, as well as the
Real IRA. While the
Liverpool mafia used to refer to the
White British crime families and cartels active in the city, it has grown to include the several powerful gangs active in the
Liverpudlian Black community of
Toxteth. When a strategic alliance was made between several white crime families and a number of Toxteth-based gangs dubbed the
Black Caucus, a number of black gangs, including one headed by
Curtis Warren, grew into power and moved up from street-level crime towards the organised criminal activities the white gangs were active in and dominated. Liverpudlian organised crime 'firms' operate on a national and international level. This mainly focuses around the drug trade but also other forms of criminality. Crime groups from Liverpool are well known for trafficking drugs in the
Netherlands and it has also been suggested that distribution networks for illicit drugs within
Ireland, the
UK, and even allegedly some
Mediterranean holiday resorts, are today controlled by various Liverpool gangs, in places such as
Marbella and
Ibiza.
Glasgow crime families In analogy with London, the city of
Glasgow has been home to
Scottish crime families involved in
drug trafficking,
weapon trafficking,
extortion,
kidnapping, scrap dealing and
murder. The syndicates of
Arthur Thompson or
Thomas McGraw are prime examples of Glasgow crime clans. The nature of gangs in Glasgow also has a sectarian influence imported from Ireland. Glasgow's crime families are often involved in violent feuds, as with the vendetta between the
Daniel clan and the
Lyons Crime Family.
Other examples White British crime families operate in many other cities in the United Kingdom as well, other known centres being
Newcastle upon Tyne,
Nottingham and
Manchester. Firms outside of the more well-known London, Liverpool and Glasgow areas include the
Noonans of
Manchester or the
Sayers in
Newcastle. Black British street gangs, such as the
Tottenham Mandem and the
Cheetham Hillbillies, are generally not described as being part of the traditional
British crime firms, which is more associated with the White British crime families from the working class districts. Black British street gangs are nevertheless an active part of the British underworld and may have connections to the White
firms, the
Adams crime family as an example. ==Organised crime groups based in the United Kingdom (past and present)==