Gunchester masked slaying in the Cotton Tree pub

Police are hunting a masked gunman who opened fire in a Manchester pub, killing one and wounding three others.

The armed man burst into the Cotton Tree pub, in the city's Droylsden district, shortly before 11.50pm last night and shot dead a 23-year-old man.

The three people wounded have been taken to hospital, where their condition is not thought to be life-threatening, Greater Manchester Police said.

Crime scene: Police outside the Cotton Tree pub in Manchester, where a gunman opened fire

 

Murder inquiry: Forensics officers enter the scene where one man was shot dead and three others wounded

 

Two men, aged 25 and 26, were shot in the leg and a 29-year-old man was shot in his lower back.
They are in hospital but their injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

The gunman, who was wearing a balaclava, escaped in a Ford Focus, found abandoned and alight in Hattersley soon after.

Extra officers are on patrol in the area and a murder investigation has been launched.

 

 Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: 'A young man has been killed in tragic circumstances and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.

'Three others were also seriously injured and I want to reassure the public that we will commit the full resources of our major incident team to investigate this incident.

'We are in the very early stages of this inquiry so to speculate on a motive would not be helpful to our investigation, the victims and their families or the local community.'

Police cordon: The gunman is thought to have escaped in a Ford Focus, found abandoned and alight a short time later

He added: 'That said, whoever is responsible has not thought twice about opening fire in a crowded pub and I would urge anyone with information about the gunman, his accomplices or conspirators to contact us in absolute confidence.

'Whether you have overheard someone talking about this before or since it happened, saw the car being abandoned or know anything else, no matter how insignificant you think it might be, please get in touch.

'We will have extra officers in and around the area today and across the weekend and if anyone wants to provide information about this or has any concerns please come and talk to us.'

John Aldridge, 50, who runs John's Barber Shop, next door to the pub, said he had been running his business there for 29 years.

He said: 'It's worrying. You try to keep it in the back of your mind to be honest.'

His business was forced to close for the day while police forensic teams carried out their investigations.

Another neighbour, 84, said he was now moving out of the area.

'It's bad, considering it's right on your doorstep,' he added.

Floral tributes left at the scene read: 'To Mark. Rest in peace. Love and miss you always. Amanda Joyce.xxxx', while another said: 'Bye Mark. So sad. May you have a bed in heaven. All my love. Teresa Joyce. xxxx'

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Metropolitan police anti-corruption unit investigated over payments

Scotland Yard is investigating allegations that detectives working for its anti-corruption unit have been paid thousands of pounds by a firm of private investigators. A parliamentary inquiry was told today that invoices, also seen by the Guardian, purport to show how a firm of private investigators made payments in return for information about the Metropolitan police investigation into James Ibori, a notorious Nigerian fraudster. On Tuesday, the Commons home affairs select committee was told by a lawyer involved in the case that invoices showed about £20,000 of potential payments to police officers in what amounted to an undetected case of "apparent corruption right at the heart of Scotland Yard". In recent weeks, as the Guardian investigated the allegations, the Met has sought to discourage the paper from publishing details about the case. But , after MPs heard the evidence, the Met dropped its previous insistence that there was "evidence that casts doubt on the credibility" of the allegations. A police source with knowledge of the investigation, which has been ongoing since October, said developments over the last 24 hours had now led police to take the allegations more seriously. The case revolves around a private investigation firm called RISC Management. Five years ago the firm was hired to work for Ibori, a former Nigerian state governor, after he discovered he was being investigated by the Met for serious fraud. Ibori recently pleaded guilty to money laundering and was jailed in the UK, after the conclusion of a major investigation into his financial affairs. The allegation now being investigated by police is that some detectives on the Met's Proceeds of Corruption Unit, which investigated Ibori, were receiving payments in exchange for information about the ongoing investigation. Invoices and other documents appearing to support the allegations have been anonymously posted to the Met and Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). The documents have also been seen by the Guardian and separately sent to the home affairs committee, which is conducting an inquiry in whether private investigators should be subject to statutory regulation. Keith Vaz, the chair of the committee, has said there is growing concern in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal that some private investigators are operating in "the shadows" of the law. The Commons inquiry has been scrutinising the nexus between private investigators - many of whom are retired police officers - and their former colleagues who are still serving. On Tuesday morning, Mike Schwarz, a lawyer who represents one of Ibori's co-accused, told the inquiry about what he understood to be the significance of the material. He said it indicated possible corruption at the heart of the police investigation into the Nigerian politician's money laundering activities. The invoices are alleged to be from RISC Management to Speechly Bircham, a top firm of lawyers hired by Ibori to prepare his defence. Schwarz told MPs the invoices "perhaps" documented "payments made by RISC Management to sources, presumably police officers or those close to the investigation". He added: "The records, which I think the committee have, show about half-a-dozen payments totalling about £20,000 over a period of eight or nine months [...] it appears to be inappropriate if not corrupt." Schwarz told the committee that he believed RISC Management had been hired to "extract" information from the police investigation into Ibori. He said he had also seen emails - which he believed had also been forwarded to the committee - which confirmed "contact" between detectives investigating Ibori and the private investigators. Schwarz, from Bindmans solicitors, represents Bhadresh Gohil, a London-based solicitor jailed along with Ibori for orchestrating his money laundering scam. Gohil is now considering an appeal. Gohil is understood to have been sent the invoices, anonymously, while in Wandsworth Prison last summer. In a statement, the Met said: "The [force] is investigating an allegation that illegal payments were made to police officers for information by a private investigation agency. The Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS) referred the matter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission in October 2011 which agreed to supervise a DPS investigation into the allegations." Following Schwarz's evidence to parliament, the Met said it had dropped its previous claim to have recently "uncovered evidence" casting doubt on the allegations. Previously, the force had suggested an active line of inquiry was the theory that Gohil or his associates had fabricated the allegations to undermine the prosecution. In a previous statement, provided on Friday, the force said: "As a result of inquiries police have uncovered evidence that casts doubt on the credibility of these allegations. Warrants have been executed at two addresses in London and a quantity of paperwork and computer equipment recovered." Two weeks ago, following raids on properties, one of which was the Gohil's family home in Kent, the force said: "Officers believe that they have identified the originator of the information and a line of enquiry suggests that there may have been an attempt to pervert the course of justice." However, sources at the Yard said previous statements no longer fully represented their position. A source with knowledge of the Met inquiry said the change of stance was unrelated to Schwarz's parliamentary evidence. The source said that, instead, there had been developments in the investigation over the last 24 hours. Schwarz named three serving Met police officers in his testimony to parliament as being potential "culprits": detective inspector Gary Walters, detective constables named as John MacDonald and "Clark". All three officers declined an opportunity to respond to the allegations when contacted by the Guardian last week. However, RISC Management indicated Walters would deny "any and all allegations". RISC Management denied all the allegations about the company, saying it was not aware of the Scotland Yard investigation and had no knowledge of the alleged financial records. The firm confirmed it had been hired by Ibori's lawyers but denied making corrupt payments, saying it "has never paid a serving police officer for information and would never approve such payments". Keith Hunter, chief executive of the company, said: "RISC management does not need to pay serving police officers for confidential information as we pride ourselves on our ability to provide positive solutions and accurate information legitimately. RISC Management has a highly respected reputation for conducting professional investigations". He added that his company was "proud to have a network of highly professional consultants, contacts and resources. These individuals are hired precisely because of their unique skill set and expertise". He accused Schwarz of "grandstanding" in front of the Commons committee, instead of taking the "correct course of reporting the matter to the police". He said Schwarz had not produced any evidence to support his claims and acted for a convicted solicitor, Gohil, who was jailed for seven years for money laundering. Speechly Bircham denied any knowledge of wrongdoing and said it would be willing to assist with any police inquiries. The law firm stressed Schwarz did not suggest in his evidence to parliament that Speechly Bircham was "party to illegal or corrupt payments" and said any such allegation would be false and defamatory. Ian Timlin, the former Speechly Bircham lawyer who was at the time representing Ibori, said neither he nor the firm had "any knowledge of any payments to police officers for information." He added: "At no time, did RISC ever inform me who or what was the source/s they were paying."

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Gangsters blamed for 2008 Vancouver violence found guilty of gun charges

Three gangsters blamed for violence on Vancouver’s south slope in 2008 were found guilty Thursday on a series of gun charges stemming from a major Vancouver Police undercover investigation. Boby Sanghera and his cousins Navdip and Savdip Sanghera were each convicted on several counts that resulted from the police department’s Project Rebellion. Two other co-accused, Charanjit Rangi and Jaspreet Virk, were found not guilty by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes, though she said she was “highly suspicious” of their activities at the time. Outside court, Boby’s dad Udham Sanghera — who police allege is the patriarch of the “Sanghera crime group” — said his family would appeal the convictions. Charges against Udham Sanghera and his purported lieutenant Gordon Taylor were stayed by the Crown without explanation in April 2011. Udham Sanghera is now suing Vancouver police. Holmes read out a summary of her 55-page written ruling as relatives of the accused, undercover police and reporters filled the courtroom. She said the evidence against Boby and his cousins convinced her of their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Boby and Navdip Sanghera were convicted of illegally possessing three loaded, semi-automatic handguns when their Chrysler was pulled over by police on Nov. 8, 2008. The guns, a CZ 100, a Raven and a Ruger, were hidden in a compartment behind the glove box, Holmes said. “The guns were loaded and ready to fire,” she said, adding that police also found other tools of the trade — an extra magazine, a balaclava and several gloves — in the vehicle. She found that “there was a compelling circumstantial case that Boby Sanghera knew about the guns and had a measure of control over them.” She convicted Navdip of possessing the same guns because his DNA was later found on two of them, which “supports no other rational inference” than his guilt. Both Rangi and Virk were in the vehicle as well, but Holmes said there was some doubt from the evidence that they knew the guns were there. Savdip Sanghera was convicted of transferring a fourth firearm, a combat semi-automatic CZ 85, to another person on Jan. 31, 2009. Holmes accepted expert testimony from a Vancouver sergeant who said he recognized Savdip’s voice on intercepted calls, during which he discussed selling the gun. Crown prosecutor Mark Sheardown argued that Navdip was also on the wiretaps talking about being in possession of the CZ-85. But Holmes ruled that the comments could have been taken another way and acquitted Navdip on the additional count. All five accused joked with each other and gestured to relatives in the gallery throughout the afternoon. The Sanghera trio will be back in court May 25 for sentencing. They are expected to get double-time credit for more than three years in pre-trial custody. During the five-month trial, Holmes heard about the gangster cat-and-mouse game on Vancouver’s south slope that led to the police undercover operation and the vehicle stop in November 2008. Vancouver Police Sgt. Dale Weidman, who headed Project Rebellion, testified that he had a reasonable belief someone in the vehicle was about to shoot one of their rivals that night. He said there were three gangs targeted in the probe — the Sanghera group, the Adiwal group and the Malli or Buttar group. At the time, the Sanghera group was at odds with both the Adiwal group and the Malli-Buttar group, Weidman explained. There had been a number of shootings resulting from the conflicts, some of which were witnessed by Vancouver police officers doing surveillance, he said. Just before the arrests on Nov. 8, 2008, a confidential source told police that the Sangheras were in “hunt mode,” armed and wearing bulletproof vests, as they looked for a gangster linked to the Adiwal group. That’s when police moved in to prevent more violence, Weidman said.

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