Gangsters across the UK share a few common values: they partake in various crimes, they usually love to splash the cash and most of them are partial to a pint.
Pubs have always been a perfect place for gangsters to run their illicit operations from – whether by using them as a hangout or as a front to launder blood money.
So it’s no wonder that pubs are often the scenes of gangland murders, as has been the case on multiple occasions.
Simon McLean was an undercover police officer infiltrating some of Glasgow‘s toughest gangs.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘There’s always a very thin line between celebrity and crime. The ”trendy” hangouts tend to be in vogue for spells.
‘They are also great laundering ventures and an obvious place to meet molls. You’ll find footballers and such like there as well, and drugs are prevalent.’
The Mail previously revealed the Costa Del Sol pubs where gangsters from the Kinahans to the Lyons hang out.
But this week, we can uncover the watering holes linked to some of Britain’s deadliest mobsters, from the Krays and Richardsons of the 1960s to Chris Kaba‘s feared 67 gang and the Hellbanianz of east London.
There are myriad gangs operating in the UK, from the Albanian Hellbanianz gang (pictured) to the Scottish clans currently at war in Glasgow and Edinburgh
Although the days of the Kray twins are long over, the gangster haunts the pair frequented remain infamous
Pictured: The 67 mob of which feared gangster Chris ‘Mad Itch’ Kaba was a senior member
Charlie Richardson was another old school gangster whose connections with a Norfolk pub made it infamous
The Blind Beggar
The Blind Beggar in Whitechapel is one of, if not the, most famous gangster haunt in Britain.
It was here on March 9, 1966, that Ronnie Kray shot dead Richardson gangster George Cornell, a murder that ultimately saw him sent to Broadmoor for the rest of his life.
Cornell was a prominent member of the Richardson gang, who were engaged in a feud with the twins.
The Blind Beggar is one of the most famous gang pubs in Britain and was the scene of the murder that saw Ronnie Kray jailed for life
Identical twins Reggie (left) and Ronnie Kray ran The Firm in the 1950s and 60s
The Daily Mail’s article about the shooting at The Blind Beggar the day after the killing
The previous night, an associate of the Krays called Richard Hart was shot dead by the back of a nightclub in Catford, south east London, which was under the ‘protection’ of the Richardson gang and their enforcer Frankie Fraser.
Hart was killed after a brawl broke out, but it was never discovered if he was shot intentionally.
On March 9, Richardson gangster Jimmy Andrews, who was injured in the fight at the club, was taken to Whitechapel Hospital for treatment.
George Cornell crossed into Kray territory to visit him at the hospital along his with friend Albie Woods and was later seen walking drunk down Whitechapel Road and entering the Blind Beggar, where he was heard insulting the Krays.
At around 8.30pm, Ronnie Kray strolled into the pub with two associates and walked up to Cornell, who is said to have greeted him by saying, ‘Look what the cat’s dragged in’. Kray then shot him in the forehead with a Luger pistol.
Kray and his mob buddies left and Cornell was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead at 3.30am. The bullet supposedly passed completely through his head.
Police arrested Ronnie but, despite several eyewitnesses identifying him as the killer, they were forced to release him as no one would testify.
Ronnie shot rival gangster George Cornell (pictured) in the Blind Beggar pub in 1966
A Metropolitan Police officer stands guard outside the pub on March 9, 1966, after the killing
A pool of blood was left behind on the floor of the Blind Beggar after the shooting
It was only two years later that Scotland Yard Inspector Leonard ‘Nipper’ Read arrested Ronnie and Reggie Kray, as well as 15 of their gang, based on evidence collected over the previous four years.
Ronnie was charged with Cornell’s murder, while Reggie was charged with killing Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie.
Witnesses came forward to testify and both were convicted in 1969 and jailed for life.
Ronnie spent time in jail at Durham and Parkhurst on the Isle of Wight before being transferred to Broadmoor in Berkshire, where he was eventually certified insane and later died of a heart attack in 1995.
Reggie was jailed at Maidstone Prison for eight years before being transferred to Wayland Prison in Norfolk.
He was released on compassionate grounds in 2000, suffering from bladder cancer, and died in his sleep in October of that year.
The Carpenters Arms
The Kray twins bought The Carpenters Arms in Bethnal Green, east London, in 1967 for their mother, Violet.
The Kray family home was only around a hundred yards away at 178 Vallance Road.
It was in this pub that the brothers held countless meetings and family parties.
The Carpenters Arms was also the pub Reggie Kray chose to have a drink to settle his nerves on October 29, 1967, before he murdered Jack ‘The Hat’ McVitie.
The Krays reportedly liked the pub because it was long and narrow, and had only one exit, meaning they could keep an eye on who came and went with ease.
The Kray twins owned The Carpenters Arms in Bethnal Green and used it for various gang and family meetings
The White Horse
When the Krays’ rivals The Richardsons needed a bolthole out of London, they fled to The White Horse in Upton, Norfolk.
Charlie Richardson, who led the gang with his brother Eddie, was pictured having a pint in the 1960s.
The pub was later visited by the then-Prince Charles in 2016, where he was seen pulling a pint of Woodforde’s Wherry and chatting to locals.
These days, the pub is a community centre.
The Krays’ rivals the Richardsons used The White Horse in Upton, Norfolk, as a bolthole outside of London
London gangster Charlie Richardson (far left) drinking a pint in the bar at the White Horse in the 1960s
The then-Prince Charles visited the pub in 2016 and pulled a pint of Norfolk ale before chatting to locals
Oval Space nightclub
It was a cool night in the middle of August when gangster Brandon Malutshi, now 26, was partying in Hackney’s Oval Space nightclub.
While Oval Space is not thought to be run by gangsters, it is understood to be a favoured haunt for many of London’s violent criminals.
Brandon was from the 17 gang, a name derived from the date on which his brother Jordan Malutshi, 17, was stabbed to death – July 1, 2012 (1/7/2012).
For years, his gang had been embroiled in a tit-for-tat feud with the 67 mob, a larger street gang based in Brixton that police consider the most dangerous in south London.
The 67 gang has been connected with numerous murders in London as well as county lines operations running heroin and crack cocaine in south-east England.
The Oval Space (pictured) was the scene of a bloody gang shooting in August 2022. It is not believed the owners are involved in crime
Feared 67 gangster Chris ‘Mad Itch’ Kaba, 24 (pictured) shot at and chased a rival mobster through the Oval Space nightclub in August 2022
He was suspected of being involved in another shooting just days later. Kaba was shot dead by police on September 5, 2022
When gang members are not peddling drugs or murdering their rivals, many of them rap for the gang’s drill wing.
The 67 was even nominated for Best Newcomer at the Music of Black Origin (Mobo) awards in 2016.
On the night of August 29, 2022, senior members of the 67 were also in the Oval Space nightclub — and they were armed.
Dressed in a grey tracksuit and wearing a makeshift balaclava, top-level mobster Chris ‘Mad Itch’ Kaba, 24, spotted Brandon Malutshi, then 23, walked up to him, and shot him in the leg with a handgun.
As revellers fled the dancefloor, Kaba chased Malutshi and shot him again.
Five days later, Kaba was suspected of carrying out another shooting in Brixton on September 4, which prompted police to stop Kaba’s Audi the next day.
During that police stop, Kaba rammed an unmarked police car, prompting an armed police officer to fire a single round through the Audi’s windscreen.
It struck Kaba, who was taken to hospital and died the next day. The 67 gang offered a £10,000 reward for anyone who could find and kill the officer who pulled the trigger by way of retribution.
After Kaba’s death, former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn called for ‘justice’ for Kaba. What the public didn’t yet know was that the young man was a gangster with a history of violence
Kaba’s death prompted widespread outrage. He was held up as an innocent black motorist who had allegedly been killed because of the colour of his skin.
Rap star Stormzy joined Labour MPs including Jeremy Corbyn and Diane Abbott in calling for ‘justice’ and even after Sergeant Blake’s acquittal, Labour MP Kim Johnson claimed the ‘media are using racist gang tropes to justify the killing of Chris Kaba’.
Of course, this could not be further from the truth. Chris ‘Mad Itch’ Kaba was a vicious gangster with a history of violence at the top of one of the most feared mobs in London.
Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said the gang is responsible for significant bloodshed on the streets and child exploitation.
Sir Mark said: ‘From the outset, over the last two years the majority of the conversation online focused entirely on Chris Kaba’s ethnicity.
‘Rumour and innuendo fuelled quite dangerous narratives about supposed facts that were detached from the evidence presented to court and the verdict delivered by 12 Londoners recently.
‘I go as far as to say that some people with huge influence risked undermining the British justice system and those people should know better.’
Totties
For around 20 years, Totties has been a mainstay of the gangster scene. Just like the Sopranos’ legendary strip joint Bada Bing, Totties employed a posse of strippers to lure in seedy clients.
Yet peculiarly, Totties traded under the company name Parisian Bistro. It’s safe to say you’d probably struggle to find any swanky bistros in the French capital that serve lap dances with their steak frites.
Equally, it may have been difficult to find a decent steak frites in the grimy skid row located in Altrincham, Cheshire, where Totties was based.
Even so, the strip joint was successful for decades until this year, when its history of violence and sleaze finally caught up.
In 2024, the owners were forced to let their roster of buxom ladies go after they lost their sex establishment licence.
Totties had at least three security cameras at the door and became known for hosting a series of violent incidents – although it is not believed the owners are involved in crime
Bada Bing! (pictured) was a strip joint in beloved American mafia series The Sopranos
Totties was rebranded as a nightclub, which appears to have led to an explosion of violence in the posh market town famed for its grammar schools and expensive homes.
During a hearing this month, Greater Manchester Police said the club was frequented by criminals, many of whom carried knives and machetes.
In one violent episode, reveller Robert Harris nearly died and was left a quadriplegic after he was pushed down the stairs by drunken thug Niall Peak.
On another occasion, when police arrived at the club last year after two fights, they found the club’s manager to be drunk.
In one violent episode, reveller Robert Harris nearly died and was left a quadriplegic after he was pushed down the stairs by drunken thug Niall Peak (pictured)
Many of the incidents involve fighting outside the bar and violence inside. A woman was smashed over the head with a glass and a man knocked out after being kicked and punched outside the bar.
Door staff were regularly threatened by customers, some armed with knives. One of the many brawls involved two men ramming each other with wheelie bins.
Another customer appeared to place a machete under the driver’s seat of his car before entering the club, while customers were seen taking hippy crack.
A local man who asked not be named said: ‘I went a few times with the lads and the club was always a bit rum. But over the last year it’s just been full-on mayhem. Let’s just say it attracted the wrong crowd.’
Trafford Borough Council finally stripped Totties of its premises licence on July 8. The Mail has approached licence holder Jonathan Dodd for comment.
The New Morven
During the 1990s and 2000s, The New Morven became synonymous with the Glasgow underworld.
The McGovern crime family, who ran the so-called McGovernment mob in the north of the city, were frequent visitors.
Senior gang member Tony McGovern was a regular, as was his close friend Jamie ‘Iceman’ Stevenson, who has been dubbed the Scottish Tony Soprano and was jailed in 2024 for 20 years over a £100million cocaine importation plot.
In July 1992, Stevenson – then a senior figure in the McGovernment gang – performed the role of best man at McGovern’s wedding. Six years later McGovern would return the favour.
The New Morvern lounge in Glasgow had a long-running gang connection to the McGovernment mob
It was just metres from the pub’s entrance that gangster Tony McGovern (pictured) was shot dead
Jamie Stevenson, pictured in a police mugshot, was jailed in Glasgow for 20 years last year. Many suspected him of being behind McGovern’s murder but he was never charged
After McGovern’s death, Jamie ‘Iceman’ Stevenson (pictured with his wife Caroline) continued his rise to power. He has even been dubbed the Scottish Tony Soprano
However, the pair later fell out amid a vicious power struggle and Stevenson narrowly survived a botched attempt on his life.
When McGovern survived an attempt on his life while he was taking a shower, he started wearing a stab-proof vest.
However, he still saw The New Morven as a safe place. It was a fatal oversight.
On September 16, 2000, McGovern ventured to the watering hole in his car. As soon as he arrived, a gunman walked up to the driver’s window and shot him five times.
Many blamed Iceman for the murder but although Stevenson was arrested and charged in 2001, the charges did not stick.
Former undercover police officer Simon McLean infiltrated Scotland’s gangs during his career as a cop and now runs the Crime Time Inc podcast.
He told the Mail: ‘Glasgow’s serious organised crime groups like the Lyons, Daniels and remnants of the McGovern group tend to keep a lower profile these days, preferring private members’ clubs, invitation-only parties, or rural estates rather than public bars.’
Even so, he said some of their associates and wealthy hangers-on ‘do circulate in Merchant City and some West End venues’.
The Kings Lounge
The Kings Lounge in Barking has long acted as a meeting spot for Albanian mobsters from the Hellbanianz gang.
Although the pub is not thought to be run by gangsters, it is a short walk from the Gascoigne Estate in Barking, where the Hellbanianz terrorised residents as they peddled cocaine across the capital and recruited young Albanians to join their gang.
Other gangs try to keep a low profile but Hellbanianz use brazen social media posts showing scantily dressed women, fast cars, deadly weapons and fistfuls of cash to seduce youngsters into joining them.
The Kings Lounge (pictured) has long acted as a meeting spot for Albanian mobsters from the Hellbanianz gang
The Hellbanianz gang (pictured), based in Barking, east London, use contacts back in Albania to help them move cocaine from South America to the UK
A Hellbanianz gang member poses masked with a gold medallion. The Hellbanianz ran a public Instagram page flaunting their gangster lifestyle until it was taken off the social media platform
The group has links with the mafia in Albania, which gives them a direct supply of cocaine from South American drug cartels
Like many other London gangs, the Hellbanianz also dabble in rap.
Just a few years ago, gangsters drove a military truck fitted with reportedly decommissioned or replica heavy machine guns through the Estate for their rap video Poppin Smoke.
The Kings Lounge has since rebranded as De Lounge, a Nigerian gastro pub. It is not believed the current owners are involved in crime.
The Bell Pub
The Bell Pub in south London was the scene of a brutal gang murder allegedly part of a deadly feud between the Arif, a Turkish gang that has operated in London since the 60s, and the Brindle crime family, in the early 1990s.
It all started in March 1991, when alleged drug dealer and cousin of the Arif family, Ahmet ‘Turkish Abbi’ Abdullah, was shot dead in a Walworth betting shop, thought to be a William Hill.
Gangster Tony Brindle was one of the men charged, tried for and acquitted of his murder in 2022.
The Bell Pub (pictured) in south London was the scene of a gangland murder in the early 1990s
Yet just five months after Turkish Abbi was shot dead, Tony’s brother David was cornered in The Bell Pub on August 3, 1991, allegedly by two hitmen – James Moody and another man.
One of the assassins reportedly shouted ‘This is for Abbi’ before the pair killed Brindle and innocent bystander Stanley Silk.
In 1993, Moody was himself shot dead, while the other alleged assassin survived an attempt on his life.
The Bell closed in 2013 and is now a shop, although the bar’s old sign still hangs outside.
The Dublin Packet and The Boston Arms
Welsh gangster Aled Gray, 35, ran a multi-million pound drugs racket out of these two pubs in Holyhead, Wales.
It was only when North Wales Police were called to the Boston Arms over an unrelated issue that his empire started to unravel.
Cops found £4,000 in cash and a quarter kilogram of cocaine, which started an investigation that would see two huge gangs dismantled.
Operation Zeus found that Gray had created a network alongside fellow gangster Matthew Jones, who controlled nearby Llandudno, to run drugs including heroin and cocaine between North Wales, Manchester and Merseyside.
Welsh gangster Aled Gray, 35, (pictured) ran a multi-million pound drugs racket out of The Boston Arms and the Dublin Packet in Holyhead, Wales
It was only when North Wales Police were called to the Boston Arms (pictured) over an unrelated issue that his empire started to unravel
Gray, who was eventually jailed for ten years, ran part of his operation out of the Dublin Packet (pictured)
When police finally had enough evidence, they carried out dozens of simultaneous dawn raids, arresting 27 people who all pleaded guilty and were jailed for a record total sentence of 182 years and 11 months.
Cops also found £2.7million worth of heroin, cocaine, ecstasy pills and mixing agents.
At the time, the CPS’s Gemma Vincent said: ‘The amount of drugs distributed by the two organised crime groups in North Wales was staggering. Aled Gray was instrumental in these criminal activities.
‘The investigation revealed that two entirely separate crime groups came together to form a profitable consortium.’
Gray was sentenced to ten years in prison for two counts of conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.
The Cloughfern Arms, Eastway Social Club and Greenisland Working Mens Club
In 1998, the Good Friday Agreement was signed to try to end the Troubles that had plagued Northern Ireland for 30 years.
But without the need for sectarian violence, many paramilitary groups turned to organised crime to quench their thirst for power, violence and money.
The South East Antrim Ulster Defence Association (SEA UDA) is one such group.
It was one of six brigades from the anti-IRA and pro-British terrorist group the UDA, which is thought to be responsible for killing hundreds of people.
Both Britain and the US designated it as a terrorist organisation.
Last year, three Belfast pubs – the Eastway Social Club in Rathcoole, known as The Alpha, the Cloughfern Arms (pictured) and the Greenisland Working Men’s Social Club – were raided by police from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force
At the time, PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) said: ‘The inspections were part of an ongoing investigation into suspected criminality linked to the South East Antrim UDA’
All three pubs are understood to have close SEA UDA connections and many gangsters are known to enjoy the watering holes
A SEA UDA mural in the housing estate of Rathcoole, in Newtownabbey, Belfast, listed the gang’s turf
The mural was later changed to an image of the late Queen to celebrate her Platinum Jubilee, although some say it was a bid to distance the UDA from allegations of organised crime
These days, the SEA UDA is believed to be Northern Ireland’s largest organised crime group with around 2,500 mobsters.
Last year, three Belfast pubs – the Eastway Social Club in Rathcoole, known as The Alpha, the Cloughfern Arms and the Greenisland Working Men’s Social Club – were raided by police from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force.
At the time, PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) said: ‘The inspections were part of an ongoing investigation into suspected criminality linked to the South East Antrim UDA.’
All three pubs are understood to have close SEA UDA connections and many gangsters are known to enjoy the watering holes.
Although police crackdowns like these may pressure the gang to issue anti-criminality statements, it is thought the lure of millions from drug money will ensure the mob does not shut down the gang’s alleged illegal activities.
