Turf war over drugs 'causing Salford shootings' By Helen Carter

BBC News Online Published duration 16 October 2015

image copyright GMP image caption Christian Hickey, 7, was shot in the left leg and has undergone surgery to remove a bullet

Salford is being flooded with crack cocaine and heroin following the murder of so-called "Mr Big", Paul Massey, underworld sources have told the BBC.

The shooting of a seven-year-old boy and his mother is the latest being linked to a violent turf war over drugs involving some of Massey's associates.

Christian Hickey and his mother Jayne were shot at their home on Monday.

Police sources say drugs, money laundering and respect issues are behind the recent rise in violence.

They believe the gun used to shoot Christian and his mother has been used in eight shootings in the North West - at least one of which is linked to the current feud.

'Battle for control'

The BBC has been told that following the shooting of Massey in July this year , there is "more crack cocaine and heroin on the streets of Salford than ever".

image caption Christian and his mother Jayne were shot on the doorstep of their Salford home on Monday

"Some of Massey's firm are peddling heroin and he would never have stood for it," the source said. "It looks like there is a battle for control of his firm."

Another source told the BBC: "Most of the so-called gangsters in Salford are just young lads and guns are so available.

"The lads have no pity or conscience, the streets are flooded with cocaine and it is only going to get worse. The police have lost control."

The source said the shootings were part of a "drugs war" in the area.

Massey, 55, a well-known figure in Greater Manchester, was shot dead outside his home and his killer is still at large.

Labelled "Mr Big", Massey was jailed in 1999 for 14 years over a stabbing and unsuccessfully stood to be Salford mayor in 2012.

Asked if crack cocaine and heroin are flooding the streets of Greater Manchester, a police source told the BBC: "There is a big problem with serious and organised crime and this (drugs) is included."

The source added it was also about "respect" and the recent shootings were about the "turf war and money laundering and not just drugs".

Wall of silence

On Thursday, police released images of Christian in his hospital bed.

A bullet was removed from his leg and is being forensically examined.

Talking about the shooting, his 29-year-old mother said: "I saw blood pouring from him, I screamed for his Dad. I knew he had been shot and I couldn't help him."

image copyright Linkedin image caption Jayne Hickey and her son were shot in Salford on Monday evening

Officers made a direct appeal on Thursday to the "mothers, grandmothers, aunties and sisters of Salford to search their conscience" following the shooting, after being confronted with a wall of silence.

Detectives have issued descriptions of the two men thought to be responsible for the attack on the Hickeys.

The first is aged about 19 or 20 years old, of "chunky" build and with a local accent. The second man is only described as white.

Both men are believed to have been wearing baseball caps.

Speaking on Thursday, Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe said the shooting would be "etched on Christian's memory forever".

Recent gang-related violence in Manchester

Saturday 10 October

1. 00:15: A man is wounded in the back after being shot through the window of his house in Mossbrook Drive, Little Hulton, Salford.

2. 22:00: Police are called to a house in Worsley Road, Bolton, after shots are fired by a gunman on a motorcycle, according to witnesses. No-one is hurt.

3. 23:30: Ninety minutes later shots are fired through the ground-floor window of a house on Gorse Drive, Little Hulton, Salford. No-one is hurt.

Monday 12 October