How a single phone call led police to the heart of London’s gang violence

It took just one call about a firearm being seen outside of a secondary school to issue a hammer blow to two of London’s most prolific gangs.

In raids across 15 addresses in Merton, south London, on a dark and wet morning yesterday, officers made 23 arrests.

Machetes as long as an adult’s forearm were discovered alongside Class A drugs and off-road bikes which are suspected to have been stolen.

Over the last three years, people in the area have been complaining about increasing antisocial behaviour.

E-scooters were being ripped from beneath people’s feet, and balaclava-clad gangs of youths were intimidating residents.

Two gangs which cover the London borough of Merton are at the heart of it all – and all it took was one phone in to help unravel their activity.

Detective Superintendent Ian Campbell told Metro: ‘A firearm was supposedly spotted outside of a secondary school just before Christmas.

‘This led to us piecing together pieces of the puzzle of gang activity, and this morning we have disrupted them.’

Doors cut down as families slept

Metro joined the Met on their raids, visiting three of the 15 properties which were raided across the borough.

Meeting in a retail park near the first property, hordes of officers dressed head-to-toe in protective gears filled into vans.

The properties – all residential homes – were being targeted in two waves. The first set were raided at around 5am – the second an hour later.

Some of the buildings were entered by ramming the door down. An officer used a disc cutter to saw away the glass door of another.

Neighbours soon crowded around to watch after the noise shook through the street.

What was found?

The first property, where the squatters were staying, uncovered drugs and e-bikes which were suspected to have been stolen. Officers also found drugs in the second home.

In total, 15 vacuum sealed packages of cannabis and approximately 100 wraps of Class A drugs were recovered across the 15 properties searched.

Three (unconfirmed but suspected) BB guns, a Taser, a can of CS spray, a samurai sword, ten prohibited weapons, two high-powered surron bikes and £40,0000 in cash were also seized.

Five suspects were arrested on suspicion of modern-day slavery offences owing to the suspicion of child exploitation.

Cuckooing

A common theme, however, is many of the homes raided were not being used by the actual owners.

In the first property Metro visited, squatters had allegedly taken over the building. And in the third property we saw, the flat had been ‘cuckoo-ed’.

Cuckooing is a term given to a property ‘taken over’ by criminals, who usually target vulnerable homeowners.

The name is inspired by the cuckoo bird which steals the nests of others.

Sup Int Campbell told Metro: ‘Sadly we are seeing it more and more these days. People with learning difficulties or mental health issues are usually targeted, and are treated so callously by the criminals.’

It can be difficult to truly establish when a home has been cuckooed, but officers take an empathetic approach to any suspected cases.

Inspector Kevin Chambers told Metro: ‘We want to be safeguarding and looking after these people who are at risk, not punish them.’

The flat was given a closure order, which forbids anyone from entering the property for a set period of time.

‘It has already been established as a place for criminal activity, so who is to stop people from just taking it over again?’ said.

‘This way, we can prevent that from happening.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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