Metro joins police in crackdown on south London’s ‘gang kingdoms’

Police have arrested more than 400 people in a crackdown on gangs following the fatal shooting of a bus driver in south London.

Auguste Marie Bile-aka Amoa, 25, was gunned down in his car on 10 August with detectives launching a murder investigation. 

Metro understands that he was not the target of the attack but a relative who was with him who was injured in the incident.

Following the killing, firearms officers and plainclothes units were dispatched to ‘hotspot’ areas of gang activity around Lambeth and Southwark in a ten-day operation.

From April, there have been eight homicides across the two boroughs, including fatal stabbings and shootings.

We joined the teams on one of the days with dozens of officers hitting the streets following a briefing at Lambeth’s police headquarters in Walworth. 

They were given updates on gang activity with the faces and details of gang affiliates shown on a screen as well as vehicles linked to criminals.

Gang territory was also outlined with four rival gangs operating within a square mile. 

The units split up and through a secure radio channel toured the streets and estates around Brixton and Clapham giving updates on any suspicious activity. 

Uniformed patrols were carrying out day to day policing with the specialist units on hand to support them if required. 

As we toured the streets the proximity of gang territory to rivals became shudderingly apparent.

For instance there are separate gangs for Upper and Lower Tulse Hill. This means straying a few yards can mean entering territory where a rival is likely to strike. 

Keeping to the borders of these ‘gang kingdoms’ can literally be the difference between life and death. 

The officer who took Metro on a ride-out around gang territory said: ‘It’s just a matter of yards between territory, it’s so close. Tulse Hill is a prime example.’

On the tour, the officer pointed out the grim reminders of the violence meted out between the gangs.

We passed three memorials to murdered young men in an area just a few hundred meters square.

Some were gang affiliated, others just unlucky in life to be living on turf considered to be fair game for reprisals from rival areas. 

On the operation, which ran from 17-26 August, the teams seized numerous blades and suspect vehicles. One boy was stopped and found to have seven blades including machetes, believed to be heading into the hands of gang members. 

Another was carrying a shotgun – a weapon gangs are increasingly using against rivals, according to police. They said the gangs often cut off part of the barrell to make a sawn off shotgun which can inflict more damage. 

Metro was with the teams when they stopped a suspect car after the number plate pinged the ANPR cameras. 

The teams homed in on the vehicle and swooped on it, arresting one man. He had an outstanding warrant for domestic abuse but officers say that the stops lead to further investigation of the vehicle and the suspect. 

He was cuffed as police sniffer dogs were used in a search of the car. 

On another call, we were dispatched to reports of a shooting in the Streatham area only to find that witnesses had misinterpreted the incident and that someone had been hit with a discharge from a paintball gun. 

Despite the eventual downgrading of the incident, it was an example of the speed at which firearms teams, backed by other units, can be on the scene.

Our officer said: ‘You just never know before you arrive on the scene what you will face. In this instance it was a paintball but next time it could be a bullet.’

Detective Chief Superintendent Emma Bond who was in charge of the operation said: ‘We have seen a rise in serious violence which is concerning.

‘We are seeing a rise in youth violence and gang tensions so this operation is aimed at suppressing that violence. 

‘I would say gang violence is rising faster in this area of London than others and that’s why we have this targeted approach.’

Detective Supt Gareth Gilbert said: ‘A shotgun was seized on a stop and search by officers which could have caused untold harm.

‘A child was arrested with seven knives, including a machete. They were wrapped as if being delivered to order. These children are victims as well as often as they are being used by the gangs.’

One officer summing up the situation on the streets told Metro: ‘We are doing all we can. We know these individuals in gangs. One young boy I knew well from the streets. He was cheeky and I liked him but of course he was on the wrong path.

‘He ended up dead and I say to these young boys. Do you want to end up like that?’

The ten day operation followed another in July, which resulted in 300 arrests and the seizure of 38 weapons.

Officers also stopped a man with £35,000 in cash in a plastic bag. Then, after a search of his house, they found a total of £4million and a kilo of cocaine.

It was one of the largest hauls triggered by a stop and search in the history of the Met.