Four drug dealers who were part of the Strand Gang are set to be sentenced after moving drugs around the UK.
Kane Bennett, Christopher Scully, Phillip Ryder and Jamie Mac Thompson all appeared in Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, February 16.
Thompson is the younger brother of Joey Thompson, 32, who was shot dead in a city street in 2012 during a huge gang war between Strand Gang and Croxteth Crew.
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A bitter war between the rivals led to 17 shootings and 70 acts of criminal damage between 2004 and 2008
But who were the Strand Gang and what did their influence mean on the streets of Norris Green?
As members of the gang ended up in court once again, we took a look back at the Strand Gang and their rivals, whose bitter gang war left shots ringing out in north Liverpool.
Who were the Strand Gang?
The 'Strand Gang' took their name from their favourite haunt at the time, outside the Strand shops in Scargreen Avenue.
The gang were reported to have members as young as 12.
The Strand Gang’s rival crime firm was the Croxteth Crew, a gang which operated in nearby Croxteth.
The gang war between the two feuding sides hit national headlines in 2007 following the senseless murder of innocent schoolboy Rhys Jones, who was unintentionally caught in the crossfire.
On August 22, the day 11-year-old Rhys was shot and killed, Croxteth Crew gang member Sean Mercer was told three Nogga Dogs had been spotted on their territory.
The teen gunman rode to the car park of the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth Park, armed with a WW1 Smith and Wesson revolver and opened fire.
None of his intended targets were hit, but Rhys was killed as he returned home from football practice.
A bitter war between the Strand Gang and the Croxteth Crew led to 17 shootings and 70 acts of criminal damage in just four years.
Gangland murder: the killing of Liam ‘Smigger’ Smith
Liam ‘Smigger’ Smith was a prominent member of the 'Strand Gang' and lived in Cottesbrook Road, in Norris Green.
He and others in the gang - who called themselves 'Nogzy soldiers' - had an ongoing feud with rival members of the Croxteth or 'Crocky' Crew.
Rivalry had existed between the gangs since 2004 and there were at least 17 occasions when members fired guns at each other.
In March 2005 Smith was shot at with pellets - which were found in his body when it was examined after his death.
On August 23, 2006, Smith went to visit a friend who was serving time in Altcourse Prison.
While visiting his friend he had a bitter dispute with convict Ryan Lloyd, who was a central figure of rival gang the Croxteth Crew.
The dispute is understood to have happened in the visitors area, where Lloyd was being visited by his sisters.
When Smith left Altcourse prison he was ambushed by about 20 members of the Croxteth Crew - who had hidden in bushes.
Moments later the 19-year-old was shot in the head, with a sawn-off shotgun, at point blank range.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that following their feud Lloyd ran back to his cell and grabbed a contraband mobile phone.
The jury was told that he was overheard shouting: "Quick, quick, give us the phone, I'll get the boys up here to pop 'em!"
Ryan Lloyd, 19, Thomas Forshaw, 18 and Sean Farrell, who was just 16-year-old, were convicted of Smith's murder and jailed.
Liam Duffy was convicted of manslaughter and received 20 years.
At the time of the gangland sentencing, Judge Mr Justice Saunders said: "Liam Smith was killed because he was a member of the Strand gang and was hated by members of the Croxteth Crew.”
The Strand, from which the gang took their name, made national newspapers after Smith's lavish funeral when graffiti was daubed on the shop shutters, proclaiming "RIP Smigger", and branding him a "true Nogsy soldier," sentiments which were abhorrent to the silent community brave enough to still walk along the battered parade.
The murder of Joey Thompson
Liam ‘Smigger’ Smith wouldn’t be the last member of the Strand Gang to die in the toxic gang war that engulfed north Liverpool for many years.
Joseph Thompson died from multiple wounds in 2012, after a gunman showered him and a friend with bullets in Norris Green.
The 32-year-old was on Ravensthorpe Green, on June 14, when he and 27-year-old Kevin Murray were shot at.
On the sixth anniversary of Joey’s murder, the ECHO reported that a “wall of silence” shields the gunman who killed the dad-of-four in a brutal street execution.
Paramedics declared Joey dead at the scene - his friend survived but suffered gunshot wounds to his upper body and underwent surgery.
Following Joey’s murder officers lines of enquiry pointed to the shooting being the result of in-fighting between gang members.
However, despite four men being arrested on suspicion of the early morning execution, no-one has yet been charged.
Following his murder, the force said the evidence pointed to the shooting being the result of in-fighting between gang members.
During the investigation, which remains open, Merseyside Police said it had struggled to "break down the wall of silence" shielding the killer or killers.
And in 2014, a £20,000 reward in return for information leading to the identification, arrest and conviction of the gunmen was offered.
CCTV images at the time of the incident were circulated by police and the occupants of a dark-coloured Citroen C4, seen being driven around the area, could still prove vital to solving the crime.
Kevin Clague, Head of Merseyside Police's Serious Crime Review Unit, told the ECHO: "Joseph’s family were left understandably devastated by his death. They all miss him greatly and we stand with them in our determination to bring those responsible to justice.
"Almost eight years have now passed since Joseph’s murder, and our hope is that this time has enabled people to search their consciences and find the courage to come forward to tell us what they know.
“We understand that people are sometimes reluctant to come forward soon after such a serious crime as this, but after eight years it is possible that loyalties may have changed and they may now be in a position to speak to the investigation, with different their personal circumstances."
Mr Clague added: "Someone knows who is responsible for this callous act, which left a family devastated and they are still suffering from the pain of their loss.
"It's not too late to search your conscience and do the right thing - come forward now.
"We firmly believe that the answers lie within the local community and appeal to them for any information that leads to the arrest, charge and conviction of someone in relation to this matter."
Enough is enough - how Norris Green fought back
Joey’s murder was when tit-for-tat mob shootings in Norris Green reached their ugly peak for many, with young children having to walk past the murder scene on the way to school.
Frightened residents were also greeted with the ominous sight of armed police pacing the area's streets, guns in hand, in a desperate bid to provide some sort of public reassurance.
It was also the moment when the community declared enough was enough, and a handful of brave leaders put their heads above the parapet to offer an alternative vision for the L11 district.
One of the most obvious battlegrounds was the sometimes notorious Strand shopping parade, a place frequented by the Strand Gang, who used the Scargreen Avenue stretch as their unofficial HQ.
It’s been a long time since life in this part of north Liverpool was characterised by the war between the Strand Gang and the Croxteth Crew.
Strand Gang thugs brought down by huge gun raid at remote farm
Four drug dealers connected to the infamous Strand Gang, Kane Bennett, Christopher Scully, Phillip Ryder and Jamie Mac Thompson were appeared in Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, February 16.
Thompson is the younger brother of senior Strand Gang figure, Joey Thompson, who was shot dead in 2012.
The court heard how the four crooks were involved in cocaine and heroin plots stretching from Liverpool to seaside resorts across the UK.
But police dealt their gang a severe blow in April 2020, when a raid on a farm on the outskirts of Kirkby revealed a sawn-off shotgun and a rifle fitted with a telescopic sight.
Bennett, 26, of Tallarn Road, Kirkby; Scully, 33, of Prestbury Road, Norris Green; Ryder, 40, of Quernmore Road, Kirkby; and Thompson, 30, of no fixed address; were exposed as part of the Merseyside Police investigation "Operation Casino 2".
Ian Unsworth, QC, prosecuting, said it targeted the four men, "all of whom were associated with the Strand Gang, a Norris Green based OCG".
The four men all admitted conspiring to supply cocaine and heroin between March and December 2020.
Thompson pleaded guilty on the basis he wasn't involved in the Morecambe and South West operations.
Bennett, who had no previous convictions, also admitted conspiring to possess firearms and ammunition.
Thompson pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition - stating he only held the magazine for a short time.
Defence lawyers will mitigate on behalf of the gang tomorrow, before they are sentenced on Friday and Monday.
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