Beytullah Gunduz, a prominent leader within the Hackney Turks crime syndicate, has been sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to kill Onur Guzel.. The victim was shot outside a family-run Turkish restaurant in east London, marking a definitive legal turning point for a man known for escaping previous brushes with the law.
A minimum 20-year sentence for the Onur Guzel conspiracy
The court has handed Beytullah Gunduz a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years after he was found guilty of orchestrating the murder of 38-year-old Onur Guzel. According to the report, Gunduz operated as a high-ranking member of the Hackney Turks, utilizing his position to extort the local community and maintain a grip on organized crime in the region.
The conviction represents a rare instance of a top-tier gang leader facing significant jail time in this specific conflict. While Gunduz was the architect of the plot, the actual execution of the crime involved a hired gunman, which underscores the structured, hierarchical nature of the Hackney Turks' operations in London.
The 20-year blood feud between the Hackney and Tottenham Turks
The murder of Onur Guzel is not an isolated incident but a symptom of a violent, two-decade-long rivalry between the Hackney Turks and the Tottenham Turks. As the report says, this brutal conflict has claimed at least 20 lives, turning neighborhoods in east and north London into battlegrounds for territorial and criminal dominance.
This feud reflects a broader pattern of organized crime within migrant communities where familial and regional ties are weaponized to control illicit markets. The Hackney Turks, led by figures like Beytullah Gunduz, have long used a combination of community charm and ruthless intimidation to shield their activities from law enforcement while aggressively targeting their rivals in the Tottenham Turks.
From 80 minor convictions to a jammed firearm in 2020
Beytullah Gunduz maintained a shocking level of freedom despite a criminal record consisting of 80 previous convictions. For years, Gunduz managed to avoid any prison stay longer than three months, a fact that suggests a systemic failure to link his minor offenses to the broader violent conspiracy of the Hackney Turks.
Beyond his legal luck,Gunduz survived several direct attempts on his life. The report notes that in 2020, a gunman's firearm jammed during an attempt to kill him, and in 2019, the Metropolitan Police issued him an Osman warning regarding threats to his life. his proximity to violence continued into 2024 , when a shooting targeting Gunduz resulted in the injury of a nine-year-old girl, illustrating the collateral damage caused by the gang's warfare.
The hunt for Dogan Over in Istanbul
While Beytullah Gunduz is now behind bars, a critical piece of the puzzle remains missing: the gunman, Dogan Over. Following the shooting of Onur Guzel, Over fled the United Kingdom and is currently at large in Istanbul, Turkey.
The escape of Dogan Over raises significant questions about the efficacy of extradition treaties and international police cooperation between Britain and Turkey. Without the capture of the trigger-man, the full chain of command and the potential for further retaliatory strikes by the Tottenham Turks remain an open threat to the community.
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