Tottenham Mandem
| Founded | 1970s |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Tottenham, North London |
| Years active | 1970s to present |
| Territory | Tottenham and South Tottenham, in North London |
| Ethnicity | Links to Jamaican Yardies[1] |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, weapon trafficking, armed robbery, kidnapping and contract killing |
| Rivals | NPK,[2] the Hackney Boys[2] |
The Tottenham Mandem (also Tottenham Man Dem or TMD) are an organized street gang based in Tottenham, North London that began on the Broadwater Farm estate prior to the Broadwater Farm riot in 1985. One of the early members and later leader Mark Lambie was a suspect in the murder of PC Keith Blakelock during that riot.[3] Lambie had been top of Operation Trident's wanted list due to the close links he had built with gangs in Wembley, Harlesden and south London.[4] He was jailed in 2002.[3]
Operations
In January 2014, it was reported that the Metropolitan Police had set up Operation Dibri to tackle the TMD. The operation, live since November 2008, saw police "conducting a confidential covert proactive operation" in a bid to arrest the most senior members of a gang whose "line of business" involved the supply of class A drugs, firearms, kidnapping, blackmail and GBH. In 2011, the TMD ranked second on the Met’s organised Crime Network matrix, making them the second most harmful gang in the capital. "TMD members and their associates are regularly attending nightclubs and parties in the London area and when doing so have firearms either on their person or nearby with their associates," a police report from 25 July 2011, said.[5]
Rivalries
Between 1996 and 2004 over a dozen murders were attributed to the gang rivalry between the NPK and Hackney Boys.[6] In June 2009, NPK gang members were imprisoned for the murder of Gary Guthrie [7] and ongoing violence between the NPK set and rivals Shankstarz from neighbouring Edmonton in 2009.[8]
Mark Duggan
In August 2011, Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old Tottenham resident, was shot and killed by the Metropolitan Police in Tottenham, North London. Officers were attempting to arrest Duggan, who had been allegedly carrying a handgun, on suspicion of planning an attack: he died from a gunshot wound to the chest. The circumstances of Duggan's killing resulted in public protests in Tottenham which were widely seen as the proximate cause of the 2011 England riots.
It was suggested in the aftermath of Duggan's death that "he started the Star Gang, a spin–off from the infamous Tottenham Mandem gang believed to have been involved in the weekend's disturbances."[9]
References
- ↑ Gregory, Andrew (8 August 2011). "'Don't use my brother's death as an excuse for violence'". The Mirror. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
- 1 2 "Mark Duggan inquest: Final moments of man who sparked London riots revealed". The Independent.
- 1 2 "Yardie convicted in torture case". BBC news. 17 May 2002. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ Steven Morris (21 May 2002). "Powerful gang leader jailed for kidnap and torture". Guardian newspapers. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ Stephen Moore. "Mark Duggan inquest: Fighting the Tottenham Man Dem". Tottenham Journal.
- ↑ "Tottenham Mandem (TMD)". www.londonstreetgangs.com. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ "Tottenham gangsters jailed for life over fatal shooting - thelondonpaper.com". archive.is.
- ↑ Elizabeth Pears (1 July 2009). "Gangs jailed over Tottenham and Edmonton rivalry". This is Local London. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ "London riots: Dead man Mark Duggan was a known gangster who lived by the gun". Telegraph.co.uk. 8 August 2011.