Hackney gang members convicted – 31 jailed following sting operation

A group of 31 Hackney gang members has been sentenced to a total of over 71 years in prison following an undercover police operation.

Hearings at Snaresbrook Crown Court between 19 March and 23 March saw 29 members of the Pembury Boys and Balance Boys Gang jailed for a variety of drugs and weapons offences, and two others receive suspended sentences.

Police, working alongside Hackney Council, set up a fake fashion business to infiltrate the gangs in a sting operation that lasted over a year.

Undercover officers used the business to engage with and monitor some of Hackney’s most notorious drug dealers and gang members.

The sting, codenamed Operation Chalais, culminated in dawn raids across east London last August involving more than 300 police officers.

Police also recovered weapons including a Sterling Machine gun with ammunition from a playground on the Pembury Estate.

Detective Superintendent Lloyd Gardner, of the MPS Trident Gang Crime Command, said: “Operation Chalais has led to the imprisonment of some of the most dangerous gang members in Hackney Borough.”

“Hackney Police working in partnerships with Hackney Council has delivered a gang strategy that has seen sustained reductions in crime. Crime within Hackney Borough is now at its lowest level for ten years.”

Superintendent Robert Jones, Acting Borough Commander for Hackney, praised the borough’s police officers and added: “These sentencing results, which are the culmination of 18-months’ work, will play an important part in further reducing gang-related crime in Hackney.”

He also acknowledged the close cooperation with Hackney Council as a key element in the successful operation.

Councillor Sophie Linden, Hackney Council Cabinet Member for Crime, said: “The strong action taken by Council officers and Police during Operation Chalais and the resulting sentences sends out a clear message – gang violence will not be tolerated in Hackney and we’ll pursue these criminals using all legal tools available to us.”