Notorious Hackney Turks gang member guilty over restaurant shooting in £100k extortion bid

A member of a notorious north London gang has been found guilty of plotting to murder a man outside his father’s top Turkish restaurant after they refused to pay £100,000.

The Old Bailey heard Onur Guzel, 38, was the latest victim of the ongoing war between the Hackney Turks, also known as the Bombacilar - the Turkish for bombers - and fierce rivals the Tottenham Turks.

Beytullah Gunduz, 39, a prominent member of the Hackney gang, had been the target of an earlier shooting, which left a nine-year-old girl with a bullet lodged in her brain.

Prosecutors said Mr Guzel was shot outside Umut 2000, in Dalston, east London on 20 June last year after Gunduz, accused his family of paying £100,000 to his enemies - and demanded the same amount.

The victim can be heard loudly screaming in CCTV footage as he was hit in the stomach with a single bullet on his break from work. He survived the shooting but suffered serious injuries and now lives with a stoma bag.

The court heard the gunman, Dogan Over, who is seen firing out of the passenger window of a white Kia Niro in the footage, fled to Istanbul, while the car was set on fire minutes after the shooting.

Gunduz, has been found guilty of conspiracy to murder after a trial.

The jury wasn't told that at the time of the attack, a man was on trial at the Old Bailey over another shooting yards away from Umut 2000.

Gunduz, had left the Evin restaurant in Kingsland High Street, Dalston, on 29 May 2024, minutes before a gunman riding a motorbike fired six times towards his fellow gang members sat at a table outside.

Prosecutors said the attempted "assassination" was organised by the Tottenham Turks in a bitter tit-for-tat feud police believe is behind more than 20 murders over the past two decades.

Gunduz was allegedly the subject of a £200,000 contract hit taken out in Turkey over his alleged role in the 2013 murder of a high-ranking member of the Tottenham gang. Gunduz was acquitted of the murder.

He avoided the execution of the contract but was shot in the neck in August 2020 at close range by a motorcyclist before arriving at his solicitor's office carrying his passport, a court heard.

Javon Riley, 34, was last year jailed for at least 34 years after being found guilty of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent over his role in helping to carry out the Dalston shooting, but the gunman has never been found.

Izzet Eren - the head of the Tottenham Turks - was shot dead in Moldova six weeks later.

Giving evidence behind a screen at the latest trial, Mr Guzel said he was on the phone to his wife when he was shot.

The court heard there had been two previous shootings linked to Mr Guzel's family and their restaurant - which has been recommended by top chefs and appeared in a New York Times list of the top 25 dishes to eat in London.

Last April, his brother's house was targeted and then two days later, five shots were fired at the restaurant at 2am when there was no-one there.

Gunduz and an associate are said to have blamed the first shooting on the Tottenham Turks and asked what they could do to help, then accused Mr Guzel's father of giving money to the gang around the day of a second shooting

Asked in court if his family could afford to pay £100,000, Mr Guzel said: "We could come up with the funds, but why should we pay someone money, for what reason?"

Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector Iain Wallace said: "This was a calculated and ruthless attack carried out in a busy public area which could have easily resulted in the loss of life.

"Gunduz played a central role in orchestrating this shooting and showed a complete disregard for the safety of both the victim and the wider community."

Gunduz - who has previous convictions dating back to 2008 including for having an offensive weapon in public, drugs, using threatening words or behaviour, assaulting a constable, and twice damaging a roulette machine after losing money - was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on 2 July.

(c) Sky News 2026: Notorious Hackney Turks gang member guilty over restaurant shooting in £100k extortion bid