Yardies

Does anybody have any info on these guys like if they have a strong power of influence in the UK?

The Yardies are a very powerful group of people, who rule their people with iron discipline.They came here under the guise of working in the music industry.
Their name inspired fear, and many of their assaults would go unreported to the police. The term "Yardie" means that the Jamaicans are in their "Back Yard".

Their numbers in a gang can go from 4, and up to 40 loosely associated people. Each gang has 1 or 2 leaders, known as Big Man, he will return to Jamaica for a month or 2 to buy and supervise the despatch of drugs, then he would exchange positions with his opposite number.

It is estimated by police that up to 100 people a day are dealing crack on the streets. The generals supervise the activities, such as the dealing and prostitution, and the enforcers, who are lower down, will collect money owed by the dealers.
If someone does'nt pay what they are owe, then they are kidnapped, until relatives, or other gang members pay the ransom.

After living in Britain for a year, they had established a base in London's Railton Road area, (the scene of the 1981 Brixton riots), running protection on drinking dens, prostitution, illegal gambling and drugs.

Two years later they moved their base of operations to the All Saints Road area of Notting Hill Gate.

23rd May 1984: sawn off shotgun shooting at the Old Queens Head public house in Stockwell Road.

On 23rd May 1987, the first Yardie killing took place. Michael St George Williams, 31, from Stoke Newington was found slumped over the steering wheel of his car in Stamford Hill, with a gunshot wound to his back. Williams was a minor drug dealer, who had come from Jamaica at age 3. He was a street trader, who ran a small baby clothes stall, but was known for his spending, while driving a Porsche.

Throughout the late 80s, the police were monitoring the Yardies very closely.

Summer 1991: 300 people robbed at a disco, shots fired at a South London Community Centre during a fundraising event. Neither incident reported.

1st September 1988: Rohan "Yardie Ron" Barrington Barnet of Vaughn Road, Harrow died from 2 shots to the chest, after gunfire exchange in Harley Road, Harlesden.

Christmas Day 1988: Steven Mendez, 22, was shot dead as he sat in the rear of his car during a street battle between rival gangs in Camden.

May 25th 1989: Marie Burke, 63, an American widow, who had worked as a second secretary in the consular section of the American Embassy in London, was stabbed in her flat in Sussex Gardens, Paddington. She had discovered a racket, in which th Yardies were buying visas at £3000 a time.

21st July 1989: "Top Yardie drug trafficker", Philip Baker, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for conspiracy to import Cocaine, and possession with intent to supply. In August of that year, Hubbert Millwood, Courtney Murray, Paul Lemmie and Stephen Fray were convicted and sentenced for running Britains first crack factory. On 13th August, Neville Edmond August Grant, nicknamed "The Scorcher", was deported. He would altogether be deported 4 times, under 4 different names.

Aug 1991: Police launch "Operation Dalehouse",and within the year they had seized more than £1million of crack, and had made more then 270 arrests. This operation was disbanded in Nov 1992, following an administative decision, which did not please all ploice officers.
By this point, the Yardies were spreading their influence and operations nationwide, even into unlikely places, such as Cheltenham.

Nov 1991: New York posse gangsters, Leroy and Victor Francis, from the Renkers Crew, and led by Delroy "Uzi" Edwards, were arrested while selling crack on the 3rd floor of council flat in White City, London. Leroy Francis, who claimed to be Norman Smith, and Victor Francis, who gave his name as Ivan Thomas, were both wanted for questioning about a murder in the United States.

May Bank Holiday 1993: Alexander "Tuffy" Bourne was shot dead in a flat at Vassall Road, Brixton. Four men were questioned, but only 1, Raymond "Emma" Grant, was given a life sentence. He claimed to have been "fitted up". His real name was Mark McGibbon.

Shootings in South London were averaging at 2 a week.

Other Yardie groups in Britain exist in Birmingham, where the Acocks Green Posse, were sentenced for stealing high quality motor vehicles. They did'nt sell the cars, but videoed themselves driving round Birmingham City Centre at high speed. This was used as evidence at their trial, Bristol, where war had broken out over the established black gangs and the newly arrived Yardies, some in Sheffield and in Nottingham, where they are called the Meadows Posse. They have been in a tit for tat conflict with the St Anns Crew over drugs, and other the years have made a number of deaths on both sides, including innocent youngster, Danielle Beccan, who was shot by Meadows gangsters,Clifton Bryan and Junior Andrews, as she walked home with friends from the Nottingham Goose Fair. Recently Nottingham has gone quiet, and no shootings between the 2 rival gangs has emerged.

So basically these guys are all in a street level catergory. Kind of organized in a way but not as powerful as Posses. Like they only control on the street level.

They are organised, but have a lot of staying power. They also do business with Posses in US and homegrown members from Jamaica, mainly in Kingston.
The US posses, I think are more powerful.

They are still in the business of cash as a medium, and that makes them less powerful then Triad, Yakuza, etc.

Eight more detained after swoops

Eight more people have been detained as part of a major police crackdown on drugs in Banff and Buchan, it has been revealed.

Grampian Police said the arrests were made on the second day of Operation Franklin on Friday.

It is being carried out in areas such as Peterhead and Fraserburgh to make them "too hostile" for dealers.

Four arrests were made on the first day of the operation, with drugs estimated to be worth £15,000 seized.