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List of British gangsters

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See also: List of mobsters by city

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

This is a list of some organised crime figures within the underworld of the United Kingdom.

Name Life Years active Organization Comments References
Roy Francis Adkins 1947–1990 1970s – 1980s Adkins family One-time partner of Dutch drug czar Klass Bruinsma, he was allegedly head of the drugs division of the Bruinsma organisation during the 1980s. Implicated in the murder of ex Great Train Robber Charles Wilson. [1]
Colin & David Gunn b. 2003 2003 – present Bestwood Cartel Led by the Gunn brothers, the Bestwood cartel were the dominant force in the Nottingham underworld responsible for multiple murders. [2][3][4]
Christopher Brayford b. 1965 1985–2003 Clerkenwell crime syndicate Head of the Clerkenwell crime syndicate until an investigation by MI5 and the Inland Revenue resulted in his imprisonment in 2003. [5][6]
Jack "Spot" Comer 1912–1996 1930s – 1950s Controlled London's East End bookmaking rackets until the 1950s. [7]
Tommy Comerford 1933–2003 1990s – 2003 Liverpool underworld figure and drug trafficker. One of the first British mobsters to establish an international drug trafficking network in Great Britain [8]
George Cornell 1928–1966 1960s – 1966 Richardson Gang Enforcer who worked for Charlie and Eddie Richardson during the 1960s. A childhood friend of the Kray Twins, he was used as a go-between by the Richardson's until his murder by Ronnie Kray at The Blind Beggar pub in 1966. [9]
Frankie Fraser 1923–2014 1940s – 1966 Richardson Gang Initially a bodyguard for well known gangster Billy Hill (gangster) Fraser later joined the Richardson Gang and served as their enforcer.
Freddie Foreman b. 1932 1948–1990 Kray Twins A freelance enforcer for the Kray twins during the 1960s, Foreman was involved in the gangland slayings of Frank "The Mad Axeman" Mitchell and Ginger Marks [10][11]
Mickey Green 1942 – 2020 1970s – 1998 An English Gangster and drug lord who has also held Irish nationality. He has allegedly been one of Britain's leading drug dealers for many years and is said to be worth at least £75 Million. Implicated in the Gangland murders of London crime figures Gilbert Wynter and Solly Nahome. [citation needed]
Billy Hill 1911–1984 1920s – 1970s Longtime underworld figure in the London underworld. A partner of Jack Spot during the 1940s, he also organised the Eastcastle St. postal van robbery in 1952 and a £40,000 bullion heist in 1954. [12]
David Hunt (gangster) b. 1961 1980s –present "The Hunt Syndicate" English organised crime boss, linked to violence, fraud, prostitution, murder and money laundering. [citation needed]
Ronnie and Reggie Kray 1933–1995 (Ronnie)
1933–2000 (Reggie) 		1952–1968 Controlled organised crime in London's East End during the 1950s and 60s. Responsible for the murders of George Cornell and Jack "The Hat" McVitie. [13]
Thomas "Tam" McGraw 1952–2007 1960s – 2000s Scottish mobster involved in extortion, narcotics and drug trafficking in Glasgow from the 1970s until his death in 2007. Was a gangland figure identified during the Glasgow Ice Cream Wars. [14]
Jack "the Hat" McVite 1932–1967 1950s – 1967 Kray Twins Drug trafficker and sometimes associate of the Kray twins. Lured to an underworld party, he was murdered by Reggie Kray following the failed gangland hit on suspected informant Leslie Payne. [15]
Messina Brothers 1930s – 1950s Maltese-born Sicilian mobsters who controlled prostitution and white slavery. [16]
Desmond Noonan 1959–2005 1980s – 2000s Noonan crime firm A senior member of the Noonan "crime firm" in Manchester, he became its leader following his release from prison in 2003. He and his brother Dominic were responsible for at least 25 unsolved murders during their 20-year reign in Manchester's underworld. [17]
Dominic Noonan b. 1966 1980s – 2000s Noonan crime firm Head of the Noonan "crime firm" during the 1980s and 90s. The Noonans were the subject of director Donal MacIntyre's 2006 documentary A Very British Gangster. [18]
Kenneth Noye b. 1947 1980s – 1990s Involved in the Brink's-Mat robbery in 1983 and subsequently stabbed police officer John Fordham to death.[19] Though acquitted for Fordham's death, Noye was convicted of the 1996 murder of Stephen Cameron. [20]
John Palmer 1950–2015 1960s –2010s Known by the nickname "Goldfinger" Due to his involvement in melting down £26 million worth of gold from the 1983 Brink's-mat robbery to try to pass it off as legitimate.
Joey Pyle 1937–2007 1950s –1992 London gangland boss, and pioneer and promoter of unlicensed boxing. Less well known to the general public than Krays and the Richardsons, of whom he was an associate. A key police target during his criminal career although he seldom served time in prison. [21]
Bruce Reynolds 1931–2013 1950s – 1980s Masterminded the 1963 Great Train Robbery.[22][23] At the time it was Britain's largest robbery, netting £2,631,684,[24] equivalent to £69 million today.[25] Reynolds spent five years on the run before being sentenced to 25 years in 1969. He was released in 1978. He wrote three books and performed with the band Alabama 3, for whom his son, Nick, plays.[26]
Charlie and Eddie Richardson 1934–2012 (Charlie)
b. 1936 (Eddie) 		1950s – 1967 Richardson Gang Brothers who co-led the Richardson Gang in South London during the 1960s. Rivals of the Kray Twins,[27] they were eventually imprisoned after being implicated in the murder of a South African businessman in 1967. [citation needed]
Charles "Derby" Sabini 1888–1950 1920 – 1940 The Sabini Gang Referred to as the "King of Racecourse Gangs" and leader of the Sabini's, Ottavio Handley, more commonly known as Charles Sabini was a turn of the century era mobster who controlled many of the racecourse betting rackets in London until his imprisonment in 1940.
C1 Unknown 2020 –present C1 CWS C1 is an English criminal, who is a leading crime boss based in Birmingham Active in Murder, Assault, Attempted Murder, Robbery, Drug Trafficking, Doxing, and hacking.
Bobby Cummines b. 1951 1960s – 1970s Youngest armed robber in Britain at 16, became a brutal hitman in the 70s but then went to prison, where former gangster Charlie Richardson persuaded him out.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Campbell, Duncan (21 November 1991). "Shot gang boss wanted robber dead". The Guardian. The man who ordered the killing of the Great Train Robber Charlie Wilson was himself shot dead in an Amsterdam bar, a London inquest was told yesterday. Roy Francis Adkins, a 42-year-old Londoner, was killed in the Nightwatch bar of the American Hotel in Amsterdam on September 28, last year.
  2. ^ Mansey, Kate (14 March 2010). "Gangster's girlfriend living in fear of hitman sent by HIM". mirror. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Brief history of Gunn Crime". LeftLion. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  4. ^ Doward, Jamie; Fellstrom, Carl (5 August 2007). "Brutal ganglord who fell victim to his own drugs". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  5. ^ Johnston, Philip (10 March 2007). "Daily Telegraph, 10 March 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2008". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  6. ^ TERRY ADAMS: THE LAST BRITISH GANGSTER AND THE 'GOODFELLAS' TAPES Archived 4 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine – Rex Williamson-Travis, Courtnews.co.uk
  7. ^ Villains' Paradise: A History of Britain's Post-War Underworld: From the spivs to the Krays (John Murray 2006) ISBN 0-7195-6344-5. (Pegasus 2006) ISBN 1-933648-17-1.
  8. ^ "ic Liverpool – Police to seize drug baron's money". Archived from the original on 4 July 2004. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  9. ^ Cornell shot by Ronnie Kray. Retrieved 23 September 2007.
  10. ^ Bennetto, Jason (25 May 2000). "Gangster Foreman is held over Kray killings after confessions on television –". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  11. ^ "Kray Aide will not be charged over Killings". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 December 2013.
  12. ^ Hiscock, John. Gangsters in a class of their own ..., The Daily Telegraph, 21 February 2009. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  13. ^ "Reggie Kray: Notorious gangster". BBC News. 26 August 2000. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  14. ^ Britain's top 10 richest (known) drug barons
  15. ^ 1969: Kray twins guilty of McVitie murder (BBC archived news 1969) [1]
  16. ^ Devito, Carlo (2005) Encyclopedia of International Organized Crime. New York: Facts On File, Inc. ISBN 0-8160-4848-7
  17. ^ "Gangland leader 'bled to death", BBC News, 19 April 2005
  18. ^ "The Gay Gangster". Irish Abroad. 3 July 2008. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
  19. ^ "Noye: From street vendor to Mr Big", BBC News, 14 April 2000
  20. ^ "Noye: I just struck out", BBC News, 7 April 2000
  21. ^ "Joey Pyle: A force in London underworld". Surrey Comet. 15 March 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  22. ^ "Great Train Robber Bruce Reynolds dies aged 81". BBC News. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  23. ^ "Bruce Reynolds". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 1 March 2013. p. 33.
  24. ^ "Obituary: Bruce Reynolds". The Guardian. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  25. ^ Jake Arnott (12 July 2013). "Great Train Robbery: How Bruce Reynolds became a writer". BBC News. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  26. ^ Reynolds, Bruce (29 January 2008). "Comment: Anyone can steal – but few get away". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
  27. ^ Armstrong, Jeremy; Myall, Steve (19 September 2012). "Hard as nails: Kray Twins gangster rival Charlie Richardson dies". The Mirror. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
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