Back in the 60s through to the late 80s, if you had this haircut, it was very likely that you were part of Britain’s most feared and controversial sub-culture: Skinheads. JimmytheGiant podcast: The Death of Britain’s Most Feared Subculture
Rude Boys would meet a very English subculture: The Mods. ibid.
Another fun group of bros called the Hippies … just too nice. ibid.
1969 is considered the golden age of the skinhead. ibid.
[Courtney]: Roy was, shall I say, born naughty. And he was born to fight. In any army you need a Roy Shaw. Roy Shaw: Brute Force, Courtney, Amazon 2005
Shaw is the most powerful and dangerous man I’ve ever attempted to meet. ibid. comment
Roy Shaw is Britain’s hardest man. Former armed robber and unlicensed boxing champion, he was brought up by loving parents. But tragedy was to strike him very young. ibid.
Fucking awesome. You’re a fucking legend, boy. ibid. Charles Bronson
In 2020 international law enforcement infiltrated a secret phone network [Encrochat]. For 74 days they were able to read every single message sent by organised crime groups. The criminals had no idea that the encrypted messages sent on their phones had been hacked. Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text I, Channel 4 2025
Ten times the amount of a normal contract. But it opened up doorways. You could almost instantly elevate your position within the criminal world. Across the UK they had 10,000 users but the global reach was truly amazing. ibid. comment
We believe that the servers that the EncroChat devices were connected up to were based in France. ibid. rozzer
Encrochat market themselves as unbreakable. ibid.
The richest vein of high quality intelligence that we’ve ever had. ibid.
live-long = Jamie Rothwell: Target number one. ibid.
We were seeing photographs of huge amounts of money, literally bricks of notes, pictures of the drugs themselves, as well as serious weaponry. Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text II, rozzer
The shooting in Warrington ramped it up for the NCA. ibid.
He [Rothwell] never returned to his [Barcelona] flat. ibid.
The Netherlands is a significant centre for organised crime. ibid.
With the cocaine comes the money, and with the money comes the violence. ibid.
By using EncroChat criminals were part of a global network. Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text III
In the Netherlands alone, police started more than 100 investigations. ibid.
I was informed by the team that the French were going to gather more content from more devices but using a method that might become known to EncroChat. Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text IV
More than 6,500 suspects arrested worldwide. Over 270 tons of drugs seized. ibid.
More than 200 threats to life averted. More than 3,100 UK arrests to date. ibid.
In total EncroChat users are serving more than 14,000 years in prison. ibid.
One gang has become synonymous with Birmingham in the 1900s. But were they really the smartly dressed, ruthless family we’ve all seen on screen? Or was the truth much more dangerous? This is the story of the real Peaky Blinders. Original Gangsters with Sean Bean II: Peaky Blinders
‘I don’t believe that any gangster had a razor in their cap.’ ibid. lady from rozzers’ museum
It would appear that there isn’t one specific gang called the Peaky Blinders. ibid.
‘The Sheldons had five brothers.’ ibid. historian
What we have is this rapid rise in street violence. ibid.
‘Billy Kimber and the Birmingham gang were running the racecourse rackets in the Midlands and the North.’ ibid. historian
‘Edward Emanuel is England’s first godfather.’ ibid.
They’re all fighting each other again. ibid.
The hole in the fence was barely two inches wide, scratched through expensive wooden panels in one of Essex’s wealthiest villages, where Range Rovers park beside horse paddocks and privacy is measured in acres, not metres. But through that tiny gap, someone had a perfect line of sight. UK Crime Files online 2025
Who knew the police wouldn’t look closely enough to stop them? This is the story of Britain’s Goldfinger, a man who laundered millions from the UK’s most audacious gold heist. ibid.
In the underworld, liabilities don’t retire, they’re retired. ibid.
This is the Gascoigne estate in Barking, Hellbanianz’ territory … Albanian gangsters who have seized control of these blocks and beyond, enforcing their rule with a mix of seductive wealth and brute violence. Hellbanianz is an Albanian street crew. Gangland Chronicles: Albanian Takeover, Youtube 2025
The Albanian Mafia: an organized crime network that extends far beyond this one estate. ibid.
Suddenly, they weren’t just street dealers, they were importers. ibid.
The NCA and Metropolitan Police have even run joint operations. ibid.
A sprawling criminal alliance stretching from the ports of Belgium and the Netherlands to the streets of London, Manchester and Liverpool. This is the [import] work of the Mocro Mafia, an underground empire that has quietly infiltrated England’s underworld, bringing with it a new cartel-style crime.
Gangland Chronicles: Mocro Mafia: The UK Takeover, Youtube 2025
Its influence now reaches deep into the UK. ibid.
A web of partnerships and supply routes that have quietly embedded themsevles into British organised crime. ibid.
A broader partnership between the Mocro Mafia and British organised crime groups. ibid.
On a late spring evening in 2022 the calm of a busy North London street was shattered by the roar of a motorcycle and the crack of gunfire. Gangland Chronicles: The Turkish Mafia, Youtube 2025
One of London’s most notorious and long-running gang wars. For over two decades two organised crime groups known as the Tottenham Turks and the Hackney Turks have been locked in a bitter fued across North London. ibid.
The feud had now breached national borders. ibid.
That a London street could turn into a battleground between gangsters and armed police. ibid.
East London: But behind the everyday bustle lies a shadowy underworld controlled by a gang so feared that their name has become synonymous with brutal violence. The call themselves the Mali Boys. Gangster Chronicles online: Mali Boys vs LGR: Inside London’s Deadliest Gang War, Youtube 2025
The Mali Boys control the local drug trade through intimidation and bloodshed. Police say they’ve been responsible for hundreds of violent incidents in the borough of Waltham Forest alone. ibid.
The Mali Boys had a mercenary profit-driven ethos. Territory wasn’t about pride of place. It was about business. ibid.
The Mali Boys provided scripts, how to text customers, which stash-houses to use, and expected results. ibid.
In June 2023 a judge sentenced Hamza for life, finally taking one of the Mali Boys’ dangerous men off the streets. ibid.
The gang had its share of specialists. ibid.
They created a persona of being everywhere but nowhere. ibid.
Members of the gang double as rappers and producers. ibid.
Former gang members are speaking out about their experiences. ibid.
Mali Boys v Beaumont Crew [Let’s Get Rich]: Innocents were caught in the crossfire. ibid.
As the police secure the scene, they pull the grostesque Reagan masks off the captives to reveal two of South London’s most notorious figures, Mehmet & Deniz Arif. The brothers, key members of the infamous Arif crime family, are finally in handcuffs. Gangland Chronicles online: The Arif Family, Youtube 2025
This botched robbery and shootout marks a turning point in the story of the Arif family. ibid.
The first time the Arif name truly surfaced in the press was May 1977 when a security van robbery in South London turned deadly. ibid.
Another was the Clerkenwell syndicate led by the Adams brothers in North London.
Other Turkish and Kurdish syndicates such as the infamous Baybasin Cartel were also active in smuggling heroin into Britain. ibid.
The Arifs became key importers of high-grade heroin into London. ibid.
As the Arifs grew rich and strong, other groups watched with envy and resentment. ibid.
The National Crime Squad launched an undercover operation. ibid.