Shot in the head while eating dinner with her family – she was the nine-year-old victim of one of London‘s most brutal gang wars.
The girl had been sitting inside a Turkish restaurant in Dalston, east London, when a gunman on a motorbike opened fire on three rivals sitting nearby. One of the six bullets lodged in her brain, leaving her with potentially lifelong health complications.
Javon Riley, 33, who helped arrange the drive-by shooting, has now been convicted at the Old Bailey of four counts of attempted murder in what prosecutors described as ‘a planned assassination of members of a rival gang Mr Riley and others’.
Those ‘others’ are the Tottenham Turks, sworn rivals of their Turkish rivals, the Hackney Bombers. The three men, Mustafa Kiziltan, Kenan Aydogdu and Nasser Ali – who all survived – were allegedly affiliated to the Bombers, or ‘Bombacilars’. The gunman is still at large.
While undoubtedly the most shocking outbreaks of London gangland violence in recent memory, the horrific events of May 2024 were just one episode in a long feud between the two gangs that has claimed at least eight lives in the capital.
And with the conclusion of Riley’s trial yesterday, the Daily Mail can now reveal a potential ninth victim, Erdal Ozmen, a father of two shot dead in Stoke Newington on August 5 – who a close friend quickly identified as a Bombers member.
The 45-year-old was described as one of the mob’s ‘top boys’, and was previously convicted of attempted murder for his role in the 2003 shooting of a Turkish man outside a petrol station in Tottenham.
Asked by the Mail who was to blame for Mr Ozmen’s death, many in the local Turkish community were quick to point the finger of blame at the Tottenham Turks. So what sparked this bloody feud, and how many more victims could it go on to claim?
Erdal Ozmen was shot dead in affluent Stoke Newington, north London, on August 5
Forensic police officers at the scene of Mr Ozmen’s shooting on Dynevor Road in Stoke Newington
Police and forensics officers outside Evin restaurant on Kingsland High Street in Hackney, where the nine-year-old girl was shot
Javon Riley, 33, was yesterday found guilty of attempted murder at the Old Bailey
The long feud between the Hackney Bombers and Tottenham Turks has its roots in a battle for control over the UK’s lucrative heroin trade – which is dominated by Turkish criminals.
While there have been more than 35 major flare-ups between the two mobs – including 20 shootings and three murders, those involved have largely escaped the glare of publicity due to the perception that their crimes are ‘bad on bad’ (criminals attacking other criminals).
But after their feud shattered the life of an innocent girl, this is now changing.
The Hackney Bombers have their origins in a drug empire founded by Huseyin Baybasin, 67, who was dubbed the ‘Pablo Escobar of Europe’ after taking control of much of the heroin being exported from the poppy fields of Afghanistan in the 1970s.
He is currently serving a life sentence in the Netherlands after convictions for drug trafficking and conspiracy to murder in 2001.
Following his conviction, the family business was taken over by his younger brother, Abdullah Baybasin, 64, who is confined to a wheelchair after being shot in the spine by a rival.
According to reports, he worked as an informant for UK Customs and M15, providing information about senior Turkish politicians involved in the drug trade.
In return for this, he was allowed to move to Britain in the mid 1990s along with other high-ranking associates and was eventually granted political asylum.
The head of the vicious mob Bombacilar was previously his brother, Huseyin Baybasin (pictured), 67, who has been called the ‘Pablo Escobar of Europe’. Another brother, Mehmet, 59, is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in 2011
One of the Tottenham Turks former leaders was Hayri Goztas (pictured) who was the ‘godfather’ of one of Britain’s biggest drug smuggling operations
Another Tottenham Turks leader, Kemal Eren who is nicknamed Parmaksiz, which means ‘No Fingers’ in Turkish, fled the UK in 2012 after the killing of another Bombacilar mobster. And another leader, Izzet Eren (pictured), was arrested in Moldova two years ago after absconding from prison in Turkey
But embarrassingly for the British officials, their prized informant based himself within the north London Turkish community and waged a reign of terror, recruiting young thugs known as ‘The Bombacilar’ [bombers] to extort businesses and gain control of the drugs trade.
At one point, Abdullah and his brothers, who originate from south-east Turkey, were said to be controlling 90 per cent of the UK’s heroin market.
He ran his operation from a shop in Hackney but lived in a lavish detached home he jointly bought with them in the affluent Canons Drive Estate of Edgware, north London, which they still own.
Over the years, they have repeatedly clashed with the Tottenham Turks as part of a gang war that has spread across Europe – reportedly leading to more than 20 murders.
One of the Tottenham Turks former leaders was Hayri Goztas, who behind the facade of a hardworking cafe owner in Green Lanes, north London, served as the ‘godfather’ of one of Britain’s biggest drug smuggling operations. He was known as ‘Aga’ or Turkish for leader.
In 2012 he was convicted to 16 years imprisonment for importing up to £1 million worth of heroin per week following a National Crime Squad undercover operation.
Despite a judge ordering that he be deported after his sentence, Turkish community sources claim that he has now been released and remains in the UK.
CCTV image issued by Metropolitan Police of the motorcyclist wanted in connection with the shooting at the restaurant on Kingsland High Street, Hackney, who has never been traced
Police forensic officers in Dalston, north-east London, near to the scene of the shooting on Kingsland High Street, Hackney, on May 30
Another leader, Kemal Eren who is nicknamed Parmaksiz, which means ‘No Fingers’ in Turkish fled the UK in 2012 after the killing of another Bombacilar mobster.
Meanwhile, another Tottenham Turks senior leader, Izzet Eren, was arrested in Moldova two years ago after absconding from prison in Turkey.
Eren was jailed for 21 years in 2015 for firearms offences in London – but had been transferred to a prison in Turkey in 2019.
The cycle of violence saw senior figures from both mobs being targeted.
Tottenham Turks members shot and killed Ali Armagan in 2012, a high ranking Bombacilar’s member as he sat in his custom-built Audi A8 limousine outside Turnpike Lane underground station.
Just weeks prior, Zafer Eren, 34, who had links with the Tottenham Turks gang, was shot dead in Southgate, north London.
Oktay Erbasli, 23, a prominent member of the Tottenham Turks was shot dead as he waited at traffic lights in his Range Rover when a hitman on a motorbike linked to the Bombacilar gang pulled up alongside him and opened fire.
Tottenham Turks members shot and killed Ali Armagan (pictured) in 2012, a high ranking Bombacilar’s member as he sat in his custom-built Audi A8 limousine outside Turnpike Lane underground station
Turkish drug baron Huseyin Baybasin (right) is currently serving a life sentence in the Netherlands after convictions for drug trafficking and conspiracy to murder in 2001
On one occasion, armed thugs clashed with each other in broad daylight along Green Lanes in Haringey, resulting in the death of one gang member and dozens injured.
The brutal killing of a Turkish radio DJ in 2023 is also believed to be linked to the feud.
Mehmet Koray Alpergin and his girlfriend Gozde Dalbudak were kidnapped in central London last October.
Mr Alpergin, 43, was beaten, throttled, burned and stabbed before his body was dumped in an Essex woodland.
Two men were found guilty of his killing last December, with the court told that ‘international organised crime’ was at the heart of the case.
Despite the ‘Mr Bigs’ of both gangs being pursued by police, their extensive criminal operations remain intact with little sign that British justice has made any inroads into their activities.
Abdullah was jailed for 22 years in 2006 after admitting blackmail and perverting the course of justice and a further 10 years, to run consecutively, after being found guilty of drug smuggling.
His trial at the time heard that he was head of a £10 billion operation criminal organisation involved in extortion rackets, human trafficking, prostitution, loan sharking, money laundering and drug trafficking.
But he was cleared following a retrial at Woolwich Crown Court after a judge ruled the lack of prosecution evidence meant that a conviction would be unsafe.
The brutal killing of a Turkish radio DJ called Koray Alpergin (pictured) in 2023 is also believed to be linked to the gang feud
He has recently been photographed in Spain. Another brother, Mehmet, 59, is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in 2011 for trying to import a 40-tonne shipment of cocaine into the UK with a Merseyside gang.
Following Riley’s conviction yesterday, Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector Ben Dalloway said: ‘Javon Riley’s actions traumatically altered the trajectory of a little girl’s life. While this outcome serves as a slither of justice, the dangerous individual responsible for pulling the trigger remains on our streets.
‘Those who ordered this shooting are a highly sophisticated criminal organisation. We understand that people may be worried about talking to us because of this, but it is imperative we hear from anyone who can assist this investigation.
‘Justice must be secured for this little girl and her family.’
The girl’s mother said in a statement: ‘In a single moment, the future we had imagined for our daughter was torn away. She was once an energetic, adventurous child — everything that celebrated movement, energy, and life.
‘Now, weakness on her left side means she can only watch from the sidelines, living with a titanium plate in her skull and a bullet still in her brain. As parents, we are shattered — emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially.
‘Each day brings new challenges, from her slower growth on one side to the emotional and mental scars that cannot be seen. The world we once believed was safe for our child now feels frightening and uncertain.
‘This was not just an accident – even if our daughter was not the intended target, those responsible were still attempting to take lives, it is brutal and inhumane. We live with this pain every day, knowing nothing will ever be the same for our family.’
