Britain’s Underworld: Manchester TV - Jimmy Donnelly - Real Crime with Mark Austin TV - Britain’s Biggest Heists TV - Gangs of Britain TV - A Very British Gangster 2007 - Panorama TV - The Real Narcos UK TV - Britain’s Most Evil Killers TV - Hell is a City 1960 - The Detectives: Taking Down an OCG TV -
In 1961 the government legalised betting shops in an attempt to take gambling off the streets. Ironically, it led to an explosion in the number of casinos. Manchester became an entertainment capital. Britain’s Underworld: Manchester
A unlikely combination of cops and criminals had scuppered any chance the Krays had of making an assault on the Manchester underworld. ibid.
Allegations of corruption went as high as Manchester’s deputy chief constable John Stalker, who was accused of having links to the QSG (Quality Street Gang). ibid.
The underworld took a new and deadly turn: it was about hard drugs, big money and a brutal battle for control ... A new drug had arrived: heroin. ibid.
No money. No food. And robbing was the only way round getting a few quid. Jimmy ‘The Weed’ Donnelly
Gun crime became so commonplace in Manchester that the city was given a new name by the press. These were violent streets where hooded gang members began wearing body armour under their track suits. And gang battles were fought out on hospital corridors. New Britain’s Underworld: Bringing Down the Gooch aka Real Crime with Mark Austin, ITV 2010
Moss Side – the west of the estate was the turf of the Gooch Gang, centred around Gooch Close, which was to become one of the most notorious streets in Britain. The Gooch Gang’s bitter rivals were the Doddington from the other side of the estate. ibid.
The Longsight Crew – an offshoot of the Doddington gang. ibid.
Detectives now had a second drive-by shooting to investigate. ibid.
Forensics had tied the Gooch Gang to another murder. ibid.
The trial of the Gooch Gang began ... The longest and the largest in the history of Greater Manchester police. ibid.
Gun crime in the city has fallen by almost 60% in two years. ibid.
In the summer of 1995 a gang of masked men viciously attacked a security van in Salford Greater Manchester. Over £6,000,000 was stolen when the van was dramatically ambushed at a security depot. Britain’s Biggest Heists s1e10: The Midland Bank Robbery, Sky 2011
This major breach of protocol [not pushing panic button] threw Graham Huckerby [van driver] straight into the frame. ibid.
A drive-by shooting in broad daylight which brought about the downfall of one of Britain’s most dangerous gangs. Gangs of Britain with Gary and Martin Kemp: Manchester, CI 2013
For over a hundred years Manchester has had a deep-rooted gang culture. ibid.
The Scuttlers – a name that sent fear through the streets of Manchester for over a hundred years ago. ibid.
The Gooch: their supremacy was challenged by other local outfits like the Doddington Gang and the Longsight Crew. ibid.
With the Gooch gang now broken, gun crime in the city fell by almost 60% over the next two years. ibid.
This is Manchester: by day it’s run by police, by night it’s run by gangsters ... Where I live and where I’ll die. A Very British Gangster starring Dominic Noonan et al, director Donal MacIntyre, 2007
Over forty convictions for armed robbery, police assault ... and prison escape and fraud ... Conspiracy to import drugs, kidnapping, extortion ... A number of gangland murders. ibid. commentary
Prison – Where he has spent twenty-two of his thirty-nine years. Dominic has two children of his own by two mothers. ibid.
Ten police riot vans supervised the wake. One hundred policemen blocked the roads for the cortège. ibid.
Crime Families ... Their mother burned down the house in an effort to move up the housing list. ibid.
Do you want to buy some carpet? ibid. Dominic
This is my manor ... One of the deprived areas. ibid.
This is a rough area. They’re knocking them all down. This is history this and they’re just going to take it away. ibid.
I met him one night in the gay village. And I dealt with him. I dealt with him severely, I really hurt him ... the best quality torture you could do. ibid.
His own community police station offering protection, security and banking services. ibid. commentary
The Noonan Brothers .... over eighty-five years in jail ... Dominic is on his way to London for another trial. ibid.
A dangerous racketeer and major underworld player. ibid.
Community fixer and gangster enforcer tries to keep the next generation in check. ibid.
I’m behind most of the murders in Manchester ... I’m a Catholic. ibid.
Dirty children in one British city living with the threat of murder. A generation growing up with gang violence and a promise of more bloodshed to come. Grenades, machetes and machine guns on the streets. Welcome to Salford. Panorama: Gangs, Guns & the Police, BBC 2016
Manchester 1989 the so-called Summer of Love: three notoriously violent brothers have taken control of the doors to the city’s clubs including the legendary Hacienda giving them a stranglehold over the drugs trade. And the money, power and prestige are leading Dominic, Dessie and Damien Noonan to become one of the UK’s most notorious criminal families. These are the brothers who end up running Manchester. The Real Narcos UK s1e1: Blood & Fear, Channel 5 2018
They start with armed robbery … The city centre is fast becoming the party capital of Europe … The Noonans are starting to get rich from drugs … Gun-related crime is on the rise … The Noonan family has changed from a prosperous and professional organisation to a chaotic crew run by a drug addict. ibid.
Dominic is convicted for 13 sex offences and jailed for 11 years. ibid.
18th September 2012 Manchester, England: PC’s Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes were responding to a reported burglary. As they approached the house, they were mercilessly shot dead at point-blank range. Britain’s Most Evil Killers, Sky Crime 2020
They had been lured into a trap by a notorious gangster: 29 year old Dale Cregan … Driven by revenge, Cregan had been on a killing spree taking four lives including a father and son. ibid.
Sometimes when they get married they start making timetables you know. Hell is a City 1960 starring Stanley Baker & John Crawford & Donald Pleasence & Maxine Audley & Billie Whitelaw & Joseph Tomlty & George A Cooper & Vanda Godsell et al, director Val Guest, Baker
What friends? I’ve got no friends. ibid. Jakes
Rochdale, Greater Manchester: ‘Investigating organised crime is a different world. A proactive investigation into an organised crime group can take years. And it is inherently more dangerous as a cop.’ The Detectives: Taking Down an OCG I, rozzer, BBC 2023
Greater Manchester, a region in the grip of a powerful and ruthless enemy … ‘Manchester has always had a gang problem.’ ibid.
Rapidly evolving and increasingly beyond the reach of the law organised crime groups are now operating on an unprecedented scale. To lead the fight against the gangs, teams led by specialist detectives have been formed. ibid.
What started as a road rage incident on Rochdale’s Newbold Estate has escalated into serious violence. A group of tree surgeons that tried to intervene has been attacked by a larger group believed to belong to a major local gang. One of the workers trying to calm the situation down was hit with an axe, his hand almost severed. ibid.
Watching the interview is a small specialised team of officers, one of ten dedicated units across Greater Manchester tasked with combating organised crime groups, or OCGs. ibid.
‘Within two to three minutes the gang [Adam OCG] has arrived, including ‘Skinny.’ ibid. rozzer