MANCHESTER is today a safer place after the city's most notorious gun gang was smashed with the conviction of 11 ruthless thugs.
Shootings in Greater Manchester have fallen by 92 per cent since the Gooch Gang's most dangerous members were arrested and taken off the streets and charged with a catalogue of crimes.
There has not been a single gang-related murder in 14 months.
Manchester's chief crown prosecutor John Holt hailed their conviction as having 'enormous significance for public safety'. Police described the men as the most active and dangerous gangsters on the streets of Manchester and said it was the end of the most violent faction of the Gooch Gang.
Detectives unpicked the Gooch Gang from the self-styled general down to the street dealers. Officers compiled a hi-tech jigsaw of 80,000 mobile phone calls and texts to link the gangsters to their crimes in techniques reminiscent of TV detective drama The Wire.
Armed with evidence from former gang insiders, prosecutors were able to build their case. The 11 men were convicted following GMP's biggest ever organised crime investigation - codenamed Viola. They were due to be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court today after a trial which lasted six months.
Colin Joyce, 29, and Lee Amos, 33, - described by a senior cop as psychopaths who shoot for fun - led the gang. Members wreaked havoc on the streets by dealing drugs and using an arsenal of semi-automatic weapons.
11 guilty in massive gang trial
Victims: Ucal Chin and Tyrone Gilbert
Killers trapped by mobile calls
The supergrass that helped to break the case
Death, mayhem, drugs and cartoons
The charges that put them away
The innocent victims of 'tit-for-tat' madness
Young dad Ucal Chin, 23, was shot dead by Joyce in a daylight ambush at Anson Road, Longsight, in June 2007. Joyce pulled up in an Audi and peppered Ucal's car with 9mm bullets from a converted Russian Baikal self-loading pistol.
Ucal was killed because Amos and Joyce believed he was a member of rival gang the Longsight Crew. Weeks later, Joyce and Amos along with three other senior gang members - Aeeron Campbell, 25, of Withington, Ricardo Williams, 26, of Moston, and Narada Williams, 28, of Fallowfield - targeted his wake in a drive-by shooting which claimed the life of Tyrone Gilbert, 24, and injured Michael Gordon.
Terrified mourners dived for cover as the gangsters sprayed the scene at Frobisher Close, in Longsight, with bullets. Tyrone died after a bullet from a revolver hit him in the chest.
The killings of Ucal and Tyrone were part of a campaign of vengeance launched by Joyce and Amos after they were released early from sentences handed down in 2001 for possession of firearms with intent to endanger life.
Amos's brother, former Manchester City starlet Stephen Amos, had been shot dead by the Longsight Crew while the pair were in jail.
After Joyce and Amos were released from prison on licence, there was a dramatic escalation in shootings.
When they absconded, police took the unusual step of naming them and more than 100 officers were involved in their arrest. Mr Holt told the M.E.N: "We cannot overestimate the importance of this trial, which has taken a sizable chunk of one of the two main Manchester gangs off the streets. It shows what can be done with all the new powers granted by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act.
"Anonymity, for example, is very important to south Manchester and other communities affected by similar issues.
"It's a serious tool to have, provided it is properly regulated, and without it there's no doubt some civilian witnesses would not have come to court.
"This is the biggest trial in Greater Manchester since Shipman with enormous significance for public safety.
"It's the first case where the full range of special measures has been used and it has involved a huge amount of work for police, the courts and the judiciary. It's the kind of thing that is well worthwhile if you can take a large number of dangerous people off the streets in one go."
Det Con Rod Carter said: "This is the end of the most prolifically violent faction of the Gooch Gang. They represented a threat to not only other gang members but also the general public because of the callousness and ruthlessness of their criminal activities. These were the most active and dangerous gangsters on the streets of Manchester." Det Chief Insp Stephen Eckersley said: "This is by far the biggest trial of gang members Greater Manchester Police has ever run and the implications of their convictions for the city are immense.
"Make no mistake, the men who led this gang - in particular Joyce and Amos - are among the most dangerous men in Manchester. They built a network of footsoldiers who had easy access to guns and were prepared to use deadly violence to enforce their will and settle old scores with rival gangs. They had absolutely no qualms about firing these guns in public and did not care who they hurt."
11 guilty in massive gang trial
Victims: Ucal Chin and Tyrone Gilbert
Killers trapped by mobile calls
The supergrass that helped to break the case
Death, mayhem, drugs and cartoons
The charges that put them away
The innocent victims of 'tit-for-tat' madness
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Whilst I'm normally critical of the performance of the Greater Manchester Police force, on this occasion I would congratulate the officers of GMP who were involved in this investigation on the dilligent and professional way that they went about bringing these 11 ruthless thugs to justice. Well done and lets hope that the streets of Greater Manchester are now that bit safer now that these criminals are behind bars, hopefully for a long time.
Well done GMP. I only hope the sentences will truly reflect the gravity of these crimes.
Front-line GMP officers have done the leg work, put in the hours and helped the CPS bring many of the city's baddies to court... time for the judiciary to support their efforts by handing out punitive sentences to those convicted.
But we should all be under no illusions. Organised crime is still a major factor in making Manchester a less attractive place than it should rightfully be. And that's why anyone, with information or intelligence on criminal gangs, illegal activities or just out-and-out dishonesty, should contct the police or Crimestoppers with their suspicions.
Remember, crime can't crack itself. ;-)
History tells us that this is not the time to rest on your laurels..the vacuum created may see an escalation in violence,as a power struggle/turf war begins in order to replace those removed.
The jail sentences will be too short of course. To save the taxpayer any further expense regarding these people perhaps the prison service could take advantage of the psychopathic nature of these men by making it very easy for them to argue violently with each other in prison and gradually kill each other off.
Laura "Crime cant crack itself - remember the life you save might be mine" Norder, do you have a jolly strap line for every story?
Lets hope the CPS come down on these ruthless criminals with very heavy sentences. Am not talking of 10 years or so but minimum 20 years each especially the senior gang leaders and members. The Police must keep up their good work and continue to remove people like these off our streets.
Credit where credit is due - well done G.M.P.
All we need now is for the courts to lock these scumbags up for life and mean life. More is the pity hanging isn't an alternative.
Well done GMP.
I echo others. Harsh punishments should follow! (not an advocate of the death penalty though).
Well thats a few of the hundreds of low lifers in manchester put away. They will be living it up in prison excercising all their rights and getting people on the outside to run things for them. One look at these loosers tells you UK is now doing a really good job at producing scumbags like this. I wonder how tough they are on their own, probably could not fight their way out of a paperbag.Glad I dont live in this dump anymore
Why not just let them carry on killing each other, it will never change there will always be shootings. It is not very often an innocent person gets shot i know it does happen but not very often. Just walk through a rough estate and look at the state of it the general out look from the people on these estates is shocking not a single one of them works because crime does pay and prisons are like hotels
In the old days people cried out for freedom. Then to take it away from others. Hypocrites.
this is a definite result but the root problem is the seeds of why this gang came in to being.
Because of the secular way our society is now formed,these individuals probably never saw or worried about the police until the police started taking an interest in them for all the wrong reasons.
If we are to make people aware that they are part of society and the benefits it brings we have to take the tools of our society closer to them.
There needs to be better on the ground policing in the same manner of post second world war and all the individuals who are likely to be a problem get more courtesy visits from the local police making them aware that they are always about ,not just when a crime is commited.
There will be the usual shouts from the reformers that this can be interpreted as harrasment and how much will it cost,well how much as this episode cost in lives and police time not to mention the cost of the trial and the eventual cost of keeping the convicted behind bars.There have been some great steps forward in policing in the UK over the last twenty years but I also feel that there as been some very backward ones.
Wonder how many drugs they will be peddling over the next 35-40years.The judge should be commended for this sentencing and hopefully all the little chavy gangsters will take note. As a previous poster stated,lets see how hard they are tonight when that door gets slammed behind them.Anyone for a pint....
WPC Norder!Bound to get the MBE&OBE.For Legging it around Manchester.
Laura Norder is groveling again for a free ticket to the police ball.
The police ball - is it a raffle?
And is there only one?
Sorry I meant the policeman's balls
why on earth should the taxpayer pay for this scum to live the life of Riley in prison? they should be put down, as all criminals should.
They should not be in prison,they should be hung.
ALL U HATERS THEY MAYBE LOCKED UP BUT THEY AINT GONE FOR EVER SO SHAME
I feel quite sorry for these poor prisoners and will be sending each of them a couple of presents... a big, digital clock and a 40-year diary.
How the long, winter,spring, summer and autumn days and nights will just fly by.
(I may even throw in a case of dates.)
Count Alucard, im on to you,alucard dracula spelt backwards,im on my way to Stretford with garlick,holy water,a crucifix,and a wooden stake.
It's when I read stories like this I realise how blessed my family and I are to live in Prestbury and not the slums where animals such as these ply their trade. A steel barred cage for the next 40 years is the ideal home for these thugs. A worthy sentence indeed, which was well earned and I hope gratefully received. 40 years is ample time for them to learn how use knives and forks for their proper purpose and maybe finish reading a Ladybird novel about Peter and Jayne.
"ALL U HATERS THEY MAYBE LOCKED UP BUT THEY AINT GONE FOR EVER SO SHAME"
39 years!! Might as well be gone forever!