Inside bloody turf war between the Tottenham Turks and Hackney Bombacilar that left girl, nine, fighting for her life in Dalston drive-by shooting – as rival gangs battle it out to win control of Britain’s heroin trade

A bloody war for control of the UK’s lucrative heroin trade is believed to be behind a drive by shooting that left a nine-year old girl still desperately fighting for her life in hospital.

The shots that were fired by a helmeted attacker on a stolen motorbike towards a restaurant on Kingsland High Street, Hackney, last week are reportedly part of a long running feud between two rival gangs known as the Tottenham Turks and the Hackney Bombacilar, which means bombers in Turkish.

According to reports, the three men who suffered gunshot wounds had links to the Bombacilar clan. One is understood have been recently released from jail and was wearing an electronic tag on his leg as part of the terms of his probation.

The intended target, Beytullah Gunduz, 37, left the restaurant moments before the attack but was previously the victim of a hit when he was shot in the neck by a Tottenham Turks assassin and has himself been cleared of organising another hit.

The Bombacilar mob has acquired a fearsome reputation within London‘s Turkish community and is run by the Baybasin brothers, who are simply referred to as ‘the family.’

The head of the vicious mob was previously Huseyin Baybasin, 67, who has been called the ‘Pablo Escobar of Europe’ and nicknamed ‘the Emperor’ after taking control of much of the heroin being exported from the poppy fields of Afghanistan in the 1970s.

Abdullah Baybasin (pictured) is the current leader of the Hackney Bombacilar gang. He took over from his brother

 The head of the vicious mob Bombacilar was previously his brother, Huseyin Baybasin (pictured), 67, who has been called the ‘Pablo Escobar of Europe’. Anothe 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

Police forensic officers in Dalston, north east London, near to the scene of a shooting at Kingsland High Street, Hackney, on May 30

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 working 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.

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 southeast 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, it has led to deadly clashes with their main rivals the Tottenham Turks which has reportedly resulted in more than 20 murders and a series of kidnappings and other brutal acts of violence.

One of the Tottenham Turks former leaders was Hayri Goztas, who behind the facade of a hardworking cafe owner in Green Lanes, north London was the ‘godfather’ of one of Britain’s biggest drug smuggling operations. He was known as ‘Aga’ or Turkish for leader.

Tottenham Turks members shot and killed Ali Armagan (pictured) in 2012, a high ranking Bombacilar’s member as he sat in his 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

CCTV captures moment the hitman on a stolen motorbike targets three men in Dalston

Shocking CCTV footage shows the moment a hitman on a stolen motorbike targets three men outside a Turkish restaurant

A young girl was caught in the hail of bullets, with one said to have lodged in her head, as she was out for dinner with her family at the Evin restaurant in Kingsland High Street on May 29

Forensic officers pictured outside Evin restaurant, where a horror drive-by shooting took place

Emergency services on the scene in Dalston, east London, after the shooting

A look at Evin restaurant on Kingsland High Street the next morning, covered in police tape

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.

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 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.

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 last year is also believed to be behind 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.

The brutal killing of a Turkish radio DJ called Koray Alpergin (pictured) last year is also believed to be behind the gang feud

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.

Bombacilar’s top man 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 drugs 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. 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.