A Merseyside gang’s weapons, which had been used to kill innocent people, were discovered after the police bugged the leader’s Mercedes – and now all 12 have gone from holidaying in Turkey to behind bars
A hidden Skorpion submachine gun used in a shooting that had been plastered into a wall has been recovered.
Ganglord Joshua Hayes, 34, and his Merseyside gang hid three guns wrapped in a tea towel inside a gap between two walls in an apartment: two Skorpions and one pistol. All three firearms had ammunition with them and one of the Skorpions had been used to kill people locally.
The Czech-made Skorpion was a favourite of terror groups before finding its way into the hands of criminal gangs in the UK. The gang of 12 had a supply of 9kg (20lbs) of cocaine, carrying a potential street supply of £900k, a jury at Liverpool Crown Court heard. Liverpool has been in the grip of a bloody gang war in recent years, prompting police to “root out evil gangs”.
Hayes, who called himself “the Boss Man”, arranged for a plasterer to carry out work on the flat to ensure the deadly weapons could be hidden.
The police initially found nothing in the flats, until they bugged the leader’s car in 2024 then learned that the weapons had been hidden behind a constructed false wall.
Tapping into the Mercedes, police listened to a conversation between gang members discuss enlisting a plasterer in order to ensure that the firearms were kept “proper safe” in a “hole in the wall”.
DNA linked to the gang members were all recovered from the firearms.
One of the developments making Merseyside gangs even more dangerous is the use of the rapid-firing Skorpion machine pistol. Spraying out 250 rounds per minute, the Skorpion is an inaccurate but deadly weapon.
“We used to have idiots running around with pistols and shotguns,” Asst Chief Constable Kameen told the Daily Mail. “Now we have the same sort of idiots running around with these sort of guns and that is terrifying.
A Merseyside detective has warned that gangs might see a void that could be filled following the sentencing of this gang on October 10, the Liverpool Echo reported.
Det Ch Insp Tony Roberts said the “absolute devastation” caused by the weapons was “tied hand-in-hand with the supplying of controlled drugs, grooming, county lines and the gang culture”.
He said the gang members “possessed weapons, such as the Skorpion, that have been used to kill innocent people in Merseyside”.
“Victims have died after being caught in the crossfire of disputes between groups like this who depend on violence, threats and intimidation to maintain their trade in illegal drugs.
“I am in no doubt that communities across Merseyside are safer now that these individuals are behind bars.”
All 12 offenders pleaded guilty to drugs offences. Hayes was sentenced to 20 years after admitting conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunitions, possession of a firearm when prohibited for life, two counts of conspiracy to possess ammunition without a certificate, conspiracy to supply class A drugs and conspiracy to conceal criminal property.
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