Nine-Year-Old Girl Shot in Head During Turkish Gang War Over London Heroin Trade.

Child remains hospitalized with bullet in brain after drive-by shooting at Dalston restaurant; conviction exposes deadly feud between Hackney Bombers and Tottenham Turks

London – A nine-year-old girl eating dinner with her family became an innocent victim of one of London’s most brutal gang wars when a gunman opened fire inside a Turkish restaurant, leaving her with a bullet lodged in her brain and potentially lifelong complications.

The child was struck in the head during a drive-by shooting at a restaurant in Dalston, east London, in May 2024, when a motorcyclist fired six shots at three rival gang members sitting nearby. The attack has exposed the deadly ongoing feud between two Turkish crime organizations battling for control of Britain’s lucrative heroin trade.

Javon Riley, 33, was convicted Tuesday at the Old Bailey of four counts of attempted murder for helping orchestrate what prosecutors called “a planned assassination of members of a rival gang.” The conviction has lifted the veil on a conflict that has claimed at least eight lives across London.

Decades-Long Blood Feud

The war between the Hackney Bombers (known as “Bombacilars”) and the Tottenham Turks has raged for years, with more than 35 major incidents including 20 shootings and multiple murders. The violence largely escaped public attention because authorities viewed it as “bad on bad” – criminals targeting other criminals.

The May shooting targeted three men – Mustafa Kiziltan, Kenan Aydogdu and Nasser Ali – all allegedly affiliated with the Hackney Bombers. All three survived the attack, but the young girl paid the price for their gang’s bloody rivalry.

Criminal Empire Built on Heroin

The Hackney Bombers trace their origins to drug lord Huseyin Baybasin, 67, dubbed the “Pablo Escobar of Europe” for controlling heroin exports from Afghanistan’s poppy fields in the 1970s. Now serving life in the Netherlands for drug trafficking and conspiracy to murder, his criminal empire was inherited by his wheelchair-bound brother Abdullah Baybasin, 64.

Abdullah, shot in the spine by rivals, reportedly worked as an informant for UK Customs and MI5, providing intelligence on Turkish politicians involved in drug trafficking. In exchange, British officials allowed him to relocate to London in the mid-1990s and granted him political asylum.

However, the arrangement backfired spectacularly. Abdullah established himself in north London’s Turkish community and built a reign of terror, recruiting young criminals known as “The Bombacilar” to extort businesses and dominate the drug trade. At their peak, the Baybasin brothers controlled an estimated 90 percent of Britain’s heroin market.

Rival Territory

The Tottenham Turks emerged as their primary challengers, led by figures like Hayri Goztas, who operated behind the facade of a Green Lanes cafe owner while running one of Britain’s largest drug smuggling operations. Known as “Aga” (Turkish for leader), he was sentenced to 16 years in 2012 for importing £1 million worth of heroin weekly.

Despite a deportation order, sources claim Goztas has been released and remains in the UK. Other Tottenham Turks leaders include Kemal Eren, nicknamed “Parmaksiz” (No Fingers), who fled Britain in 2012, and Izzet Eren, arrested in Moldova after escaping from a Turkish prison.

Trail of Violence

The gang war has produced a devastating body count:

• 2012: Ali Armagan, a senior Bombacilar member, was shot dead in his custom Audi limousine outside Turnpike Lane station
• 2012: Zafer Eren, linked to Tottenham Turks, was killed in Southgate
• 2012: Oktay Erbasli, 23, a prominent Tottenham Turks member, was shot dead at traffic lights by a Bombacilar hitman on a motorcycle
• 2023: Turkish radio DJ Mehmet Koray Alpergin, 43, was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in what authorities believe was connected to the feud

The violence has spread beyond targeted assassinations. Armed clashes in broad daylight along Green Lanes in Haringey have resulted in gang member deaths and dozens of injuries.

Recent Escalation

A potential ninth victim emerged following Riley’s conviction: Erdal Ozmen, a 45-year-old father of two shot dead in Stoke Newington on August 5, 2024. A close friend identified Ozmen as a senior Bombacilar member, previously convicted of attempted murder in 2003 for shooting a Turkish man outside a Tottenham petrol station.

Local Turkish community members point to the Tottenham Turks as responsible for Ozmen’s death, suggesting the cycle of retribution continues.

Justice System Struggles

Despite numerous arrests and convictions, the criminal organizations remain largely intact. Abdullah Baybasin was sentenced to 32 years for blackmail, perverting justice, and drug smuggling, but was cleared on retrial after a judge ruled prosecution evidence insufficient. He has recently been photographed in Spain.

His brother Mehmet, 59, is serving 30 years for attempting to import 40 tonnes of cocaine with a Merseyside gang. The trial revealed Abdullah headed a £10 billion criminal organization involved in extortion, human trafficking, prostitution, loan sharking, money laundering and drug trafficking.

Ongoing Investigation

Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector Ben Dalloway acknowledged the challenges facing investigators: “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.”

The gunman who pulled the trigger remains at large.

Family’s Anguish

The nine-year-old victim’s mother described the devastating impact: “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.”

The child faces ongoing medical challenges, including slower growth on one side and invisible emotional trauma. Her family lives with the knowledge that their world has been permanently altered by a conflict they had no part in.

With Riley’s conviction marking only the latest chapter in this ongoing saga, questions remain about when – or if – British authorities can break the cycle of violence that has terrorized London’s Turkish community for decades.