Clerkenwell crime syndicate
| Founded | 1980s |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Terry Adams and his brothers Tommy and Patrick |
| Founding location | Islington, London, England |
| Years active | 1980s-present |
| Territory | Various neighbourhoods in London |
| Membership | Unknown |
| Criminal activities | Racketeering, drug trafficking, murder, extortion, bribery, pimping, bookmaking, money laundering, human trafficking, smuggling, fraud, arms trafficking, theft |
| Allies | Irish Mob, Jamaican posses, Arif gang, Colombian drug cartels |
| Rivals | Various criminal gangs in London |
The Clerkenwell crime syndicate, also known as the Adams Family or the A-team, is an English criminal organisation, allegedly one of the most powerful in the United Kingdom. Media reports have linked the Adams family to around 25 murders and credited them with wealth of up to £200 million.
During the 1980s Terence "Terry" George Adams formed a syndicate with his brothers Thomas "Tommy" Sean Adams and Patrick "Patsy" Daniel John Adams as its financier and enforcer respectively. The brothers were born to Irish parents, part of a large family of 11 children who grew up in Barnsbury, Islington.
The syndicate was based in Clerkenwell while Terry Adams, until his admission of money laundering in 2007, had lived in Barnsbury. The syndicate expanded over years to include other members of the Adams' Irish family and close childhood friends.
The gang is allegedly heavily involved in drug trafficking and extortion as well as the hijacking of gold bullion shipments and security fraud. They have been linked to 25 gangland murders of informants and rival criminals. In addition to developing alleged connections to Metropolitan Police officials, they were also stated to have had a British Conservative MP in their pocket at one point.
The shooting of the then 68-year-old "Mad" Frankie Fraser, a former enforcer for The Richardson Gang, in July 1991 was said to have been ordered by the Adams family — though Fraser said he had been targeted by rogue police. The family is believed to have connections with various criminal organisations, specifically with South American drug cartels.
The BBC has asserted that their influence decreased from 2000 onwards. Police officers, speaking off-record to British newspapers, have said that the family has been credited with acts that they simply did not carry out and judging by the number of alleged key gang members killed or imprisoned below this might well be true, however the Metropolitan Police took the Adams crimes so seriously they considered the need to involve not only a hand-picked CPS lead team of detectives but the country's highest level security service, MI5, in order to crack the Adams mafia-like organised crime cartel.
...
Wikipedia