A prominent figure in London’s Hackney Turks organized crime group has been sentenced to life imprisonment for orchestrating a shooting outside a Turkish restaurant in East London. Beytullah Gunduz, 40, was convicted at the Old Bailey of conspiring to murder Onur Guzel, 38, the owner of the Dalston establishment targeted in the attack.
The shooting occurred last year amid an ongoing violent rivalry between the Hackney Turks and the Tottenham Turks gangs. Prosecutors detailed how Guzel had become entangled in this conflict, enduring threats and an attempted extortion involving demands of hundreds of thousands of pounds. Despite the assault, Guzel survived the shooting.
The court also heard that Gunduz had previously narrowly escaped a separate shooting incident in which a nine-year-old girl was seriously injured after being struck in the head. Authorities portrayed these events as part of a broader pattern of criminal activity conducted by Hackney’s organized groups.
Following his conviction, Gunduz was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years. The ruling underscores the judiciary’s approach to addressing gang-related violence and protecting communities affected by such disputes.