MURDERS RISING IN 'YARDIE' DRUG WAR

A feud between rival drug gangs in London is believed to have claimed two
more victims in the past week, bringing the number of murders to 13 since
the start of the year.

Scotland Yard detectives believe the extraordinary number of shootings is
evidence of a battle for supremacy between Yardie-style Jamaican gangsters
based in the capital.

In the latest incident, on Monday night, a 20-year-old man was shot dead in
the street in Harlesden, north-west London, by two men.

On Sunday night, a gun battle outside a pub in Hoxton, north-east London,
injured two people. Both were taken to hospital and they are now being
treated under armed guard. Police called to investigate the shooting found
nine cars with bullet holes in them. An abandoned Mazda was riddled with
bullets and splashed with blood.

Later on Sunday night, a 21-year-old man was shot in the back and killed at
a night-club in Windsor, Berkshire.

Two days earlier, a 23-year-old man was shot several times as he sat in his
car in Brixton, south London, following the funeral of a prominent gangster.

In all four cases, members of a specialist police team, known as Operation
Trident, have been called in.

Since January, there have been 13 gun murders in and around London which are
believed to have Yardie-style links. Most of the attacks have taken place in
Harlesden, Brixton, Tottenham and Lambeth areas of the capital. A major
police operation that includes the deployment of 24-hour armed response
vehicles in potential troublespots has been set up to try and prevent
further killings.

The killings are believed to be the result of feuds over drugs - mostly
crack cocaine - and territorial control.

For more than a year, a team of detectives based in Lambeth, south London,
has been compiling intelligence on Jamaican-born criminals. The Operation
Trident squad includes several officers with Jamaican family backgrounds to
help break into previously impenetrable criminal circles.

Detectives have drawn up a database of 200 Jamaican-born criminals linked to
gun crime in Britain. But British-born criminals who have mimicked the
violent, gun-toting lifestyle of the Yardies, rather than genuine Jamaican
gangsters, are believed to be responsible for many of the street battles.

A protest march was recently held in north London involving the black
community - many of whom are becoming increasingly fearful of the street
shootings and violence.

The shooting of Dean Roberts in Harlesden on Monday is believed to be the
latest example of the continuing feud. Two men were seen driving away in a
red car. Mr Roberts died several hours later in hospital.

Detectives are also investigating links with the shooting on Sunday night at
the Mirage nightclub in Windsor in which Nathan Cawley died. Three suspects
were seen escaping through a fire exit immediately after the incident. More
than 500 people were in the club when Mr Cawley was shot.

Detectives say that the rival factions are disorganised, and what links them
is the trade in crack cocaine and a willingness to use extreme violence.

While the police have had some success with their investigations, and have
charged several people with murder, the violence shows no sign of abating.
Worryingly, the reverse appears to be case.