AS underworld Mr Big Paul Massey walked up the driveway to his suburban red brick home in Salford a hitman sprang from a churchyard and opened fire with an Uzi submachine gun.
Dressed in military style fatigues the assassin nicknamed The Iceman showed no mercy, finishing off the drug dealer after he attempted to take cover behind the bins.
The cold blooded murder a decade ago led to an orgy of bloody violence on the streets of the Greater Manchester city between two gangs – the A-Team and the Anti A-Team.
A seven year-old schoolboy almost died in one botched revenge hit and an enforcer was shot dead at close range as he walked along a footpath with his pregnant girlfriend.
There had been talk of a truce between two the warring gangs, with A-Team leader Stephen Britton, 37, and Anti A-Team boss Michael ‘Cazza’ Carroll, 44, reportedly sorting out their differences with a fist fight in Dubai two years ago.
But now a crack down on British criminals by the oil rich United Arab Emirates looks set to reignite the simmering feud back in Salford.
They have been spooked by the arrest last month in Dubai of Scottish crime figures Steven Lyons, Ross McGill, Stephen Jamieson and Steven Larwood.
The Sun has been told the Antis believe they have the fire power to win the turf war with the A-Team.
An underworld source who knows members of both organisations, reveals: “Ste Britton has been in Dubai for a few years but he is now a bit jerky because of the arrest of the Scottish kids. He thinks someone like him could be next.
“At the moment the only thing that is keeping him safe is his access to money.
“He can pay people to keep him safe and out of trouble.
“Meanwhile Cazza who leads the Antis is much more brazen. There have been attempts to make a truce but he’s not been interested.
“They now have more members on the streets of Salford and they have always been more crazy.
“Cazza thinks the A-Team are losing their balls and wants to take advantage of that.”
To most people the A-Team evokes childhood memories of Hannibal uttering the immortal phrase “I love it when a plan comes together” in the 1980s hit TV show.
But for the 230,000 people living in Salford, which borders Manchester and is home to Gary Neville’s football club that name provokes dread.
As does the equally deadly Anti A-Team.
Their war is said to have been sparked in the summer of 2014 when a woman threw a drink over someone from the A-Team in a nightclub.
At the start of the following year Carroll’s ex-girlfriend – and the mother of his child – watched in horror as masked men removed the roof of her VW Golf with a Stihl saw outside their home.
In March 2015 a hand grenade was thrown at the home of an A-team family member and tit-for-tat shootings followed, including one at a car wash in Ashton-in-Makerfield.
It truly erupted when Britton’s mentor Massey, 55, was executed outside his Salford home in July 2015 by Mark “The Iceman” Fellows.
Salford born Fellows, 45, was an enforcer for the Antis and an associate of Carroll.
During the subsequent murder trial at Liverpool Crown Court in 2019, jurors were told that Massey’s death was the result of a feud between Carroll and Britton.
Fellows was also convicted of murdering one of Massey’s other associates John Kinsella, who he shot in the head in 2018.
Kinsella had infamously once taken on a gangster who had threatened “to maim” former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard.
Fellows was given a whole life sentence, meaning he will serve at least 33 years in prison.
Following Massey’s murder, Carroll fled to Spain and graffiti appeared all over Salford calling him a “grass rat snitch police informer” and urging him to “come fight your war”.
A hit-squad was dispatched to Spain.
But any assassination attempt was thwarted following a raid on an apartment in Marbella on February 16, 2016, when Policia Nacional officers, alongside detectives from GMP, found an astonishing haul of weapons including knives and a loaded pistol.
Britton was arrested alongside others but released.
It is believed Carroll then fled to Thailand and later Dubai.
Back in Salford innocent civilians were caught up in the cross fire.
Seven-year-old schoolboy Christian Hickey was hit through the door of his home by gunmen trying to kill his dad in October 2015, but thankfully survived.
Detectives investigating the shocking shooting faced a wall of silence, with no witnesses willing to come forward.
The citizens of Salford fear reprisals if they stand against the heavily armed gangsters.
Such was the level of violence between the rival gangs, cops trying to control them considered recruiting “paramilitary mediators” from Northern Ireland in an attempt to broker a peace between the two warring sides.
Eventually a team of dedicated officers from Greater Manchester Police brought order to the streets, forcing Britton and Carroll to take refuge in the Middle East.
The pair have endured an uneasy peace in Dubai, culminating in a “straightener” in the desert which an underworld source told The Sun saw Carroll have to visit the dentist two days later to have his “turkey teeth” re-set.
The source says the sworn enemies fear their time in the sun could be up – which could spark carnage back in Salford.
There is a crackdown by the authorities in Dubai – who no longer want to see the country portrayed as a playground for criminals of all nationalities.
The source says: “Street dealers for the A-Team are worried they are going to get picked off. “And if the Antis start trying to flex their muscle, it could spark another war because Ste Britton absolutely hates Carroll”.
A-Team members left back in Salford fear day to day life against the Antis is no longer a fair fight because Britton is more focused on extending his international network.
The source alleges that while in Dubai, Britton had become a frequent visitor to Iran which is just 21 nautical miles, or 39km across the Strait of Hormuz.
They claim: “What’s actually happening is the A-Team are working on making worldwide contacts and are less interested in day to day beefs which are more likely to see them locked up.
“Britton has been going to Iran and has also been making contact with Pakistan-based drugs gangs who have a route through Turkey and into mainland Europe.
“That’s what he wants to get involved in because the money is millions.”
In 2019 Britton was said to have held peace talks with one key Anti A Team member Jamie Rothwell, who earlier this year was jailed for 43 years for a string of gun and drug offences.
The pair were pictured smiling together over a meal in a bar in Spain.
Back home, the police are in no mood to let the turf war boil over.
Detective Superintendent Joe Harrop from our Serious Crime Division says: “The reduction in firearm incidents across Greater Manchester, and particularly in Salford, is a direct result of the relentless work our officers have undertaken over the past year.
“Between April 2024 and April 2025, we’ve made significant in-roads in tackling gun crime head-on, we have successfully recovered 86 firearms from our streets, meaning we have seen an increase of 8.9 per cent from the previous year’s total of 79.
“In Salford alone, we’ve seen a dramatic drop in confirmed discharges – from six last year to just two this year – highlighting the impact of our targeted operations.
“This proactive action in the district has led to 58 arrests and 17 charges for possession of firearms offences, demonstrating our commitment to holding offenders accountable.”
But our source confirmed two things – Britton and Carroll remain sworn enemies.
Neither has any interest in letting go of any grudges.
They conclude: “While these two enemies are in Dubai, a form of peace exists.
“But If either of them have to move or start flexing their muscles again, Salford could ignite.”
