Police Raids Dealt 'Massive Blow' to Murderous Local Gang
Six charged after seizure of guns, ammunition and drugs at properties in Fulham
The defendants, who have been charged with two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs between July 2017 and March 2018, include one boy aged 17 arrested at an address in Fulham Road and another aged 14 arrested in Stephendale Road.
The others are Joanna Hill, 49, of Nevern Place, Earls Court, Andreae Williams, 28, of Long Elmes, Harrow and Ajamu Preddie, 34 of Bollo Bridge Road, Ealing.
The two boys have been released on bail while Williams, Preddie, and Hill have been remanded in custody at a West London police station.
Richard Matthews, 30 of Clovelly Road, Chiswick, who was arrested in Stephendale Road in Fulham has been charged with a string of offences:
Two charges of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life;
Two charges of possession of prohibited ammunition;
One charge of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs;
One charge of possession of criminal property.
All defendants will appear at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court today, Friday, 13 April.
Three others, two women and a man have been released under investigation.
The raids, carried out in the early morning of Thursday, 12 April, were carried out at eight addresses across London by police cracking down on gang culture and violent crime.
A number of items seized from the properties, including a Skorpio sub-machine pistol, a handgun, ammunition, cash and large quantities of what is believed to be Class A drugs.
Police said the arrests were connected to an established gang called MDP, short for Murder Dem Pussies, which has been operating in west London for around a decade and has been linked to several murders.
Nine people were arrested, including three in Fulham - a 17 year-old arrested at a property in Fulham Road and a 30 year-old man and a 14 year-old boy arrested at two addresses in Stephendale Road.
All three were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and the man in Stephendale Road was also accused of possession of firearms.
More than 200 officers from units across the Met took part in this morning's activity, which was led by Operation Viper and forms part of the Trident and Area Crime Command. The operation formed part of a combined and determined effort to identify and target violent criminals across London.
Police say warrants were executed at two addresses in Stephendale Road and one in Fulham Road, both in SW6, plus addresses in Nevern Place in Earls Court, Greenford,
Brentford and Northolt.
The arrests were made as part of an intelligence-led, five month operation targeting a violent and sophisticated gang operating in West London who is believed to be involved in drug supply across the city.
In Fulham, officers noticed the 30 year-old suspect sitting in a car as they crept up to a seemingly empty property in Stephendale Road.
During a search, they found a Škorpion machine pistol, a handgun, 40 rounds of ammunition and a kilogram of suspected class A drugs.
DI Driss Hayoukane said: "This is a massive blow to an established gang. What we’ve taken out is probably a line which has been supplying the Earl’s Court and Fulham areas.
"This gang have been running that line for quite a while and making a lot of money. These gangs have corrupted children and are using them to ferry drugs. If you look across London, these are the kids that are getting involved in violence and stabbings because they are generally on the streets while the suppliers are removed from it, collecting the cash."
Members of the gang drove flashy cars and showed off their wealth online with luxury holidays to places such as Dubai, he said. One property in Earl’s Court had allegedly been 'cuckooed', in which criminals take over the flat of a vulnerable person or addict to sell drugs from it.
Officers used a range of covert and overt tactics to identify and target high-level, violent offenders.
The operation was supported by the Trident and Area Crime Command, borough officers and other specialist units, including firearms officers, from across the Met.
Commissioner Cressida Dick, who accompanied officers on the raid in Blenheim Close, said: "Tonight, after some really good, strong work over the last few months, we were in a position to go out and execute warrants in relation to a number of people.
"They are very violent - several of them have a history of violence. One at least is suspected of regularly using firearms and they are being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.
"Not only have they been, as it appears to us, supplying crack cocaine and heroin but they've been making a huge amount of money doing it.
"They've been using violence, they've been exploiting vulnerable people and very young people, as young as 14, have been engaged in the drug dealing operation, so they need to be locked up.
"People like this, who may appear to have been operating with impunity for a period of time, cause devastation and fear. It sends a very strong signal to the public, who are very supportive in the police in these sorts of operations, that we are putting a lot of effort into carrying out work like this."
The six men and three women all remain in custody at a west London police station. Details of the arrests are as follows:
First address in Stephendale Road, Fulham: a 30 year-old man arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possession of firearms.
Second address in Stephendale Road, Fulham: a 14 year-old male arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Fulham Road, Fulham: a 17 year-old male arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Nevern Place, Earls Court: a 49-year-old woman arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Blenheim Close, Greenford: a 28 year-old man arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Glenhurst Road, Brentford: a 34 year-old man arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs; a 34 year-old woman arrested on suspicion of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and a 33 year-old woman arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.
Dorchester Close, Northolt: a 29 year-old man arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
April 13, 2018