Three members of the Manchester Bandidos motorcycle club have been jailed after a five-year police investigation – with six others also sentenced.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/rival-biker-smashed-car-hells-33539604
A feud between rival bikers in Salford has led to three members being jailed for a combined 17 years for drugs and firearms offences – with the leader of one gang coordinating the production of 3D-printed guns. A five-year-long investigation by Greater Manchester Police began on August 22, 2020, when a car crashed into the clubhouse of the Hells Angels biker club on Liverpool Road in Cardishead. An act of feuding of rival clubs sparked a police probe that uncovered a network of criminal activity spanning the country.
It led to the arrest and charging of six individuals linked to the Manchester Bandidos motorcycle club. Earlier, on the day of the car crash, members of the rival Hells Angels motorcycle club had visited a pub located just yards from their adversaries’ clubhouse on Chester Road in Trafford.
Club members positioned themselves along the road in a display of disrespect, taunting their rivals who were absent from the clubhouse at the time. Fifteen minutes after their arrival, the group dispersed from the area, moving out of CCTV coverage.
Later that afternoon, several members of the Bandidos motorcycle club reconvened at their clubhouse, where police suspect a retaliation plot was devised against their Salford rivals. At 7pm, a Peugeot 2008, rented by Steve Mason a few days prior to the incident, is spotted on CCTV heading towards Salford.
Mobile phone data indicates that both Leslie Lamb and Luke Emery are in the vehicle, located in the Irlam and Cadishead area of Salford. Before midnight, that same Peugeot was driven in reverse into the front of the Hells Angels clubhouse on Liverpool Road in Cadishead.
CCTV footage from the vicinity shows a suspect fleeing from the scene of the collision, donning a crash helmet and a distinctive jacket. The suspect is seen entering a waiting vehicle. The jacket bears a striking resemblance to one worn by Emery in a previous social media post.
She had been hospitalised and returned home to find the kitchen window open and the car key missing. The vehicle reported as stolen was a Peugeot 2008, identical to the one reversed into the clubhouse on Liverpool Road the previous night.
Officers conducted investigations and discovered inconsistencies in Priestner’s account. Despite her claim of a four-day hospital stay, records indicated she was only admitted for a six-hour period. Due to the discrepancy in the timeline of events, officers deemed it necessary to continue with the investigation, which astonishingly lasted five years.
Evidence revealed that Mason had coordinated the production of 3D-printed firearms using multiple printers confiscated from addresses associated with him in Manchester and Exmouth.
Forensic analysis verified his DNA on the trigger and operational parts of a PG22 Maverick revolver, a weapon prohibited under the Firearms Act. He also appeared in videos assembling gun components and was connected to ammunition and a conventional .38 calibre revolver.
Leslie “Diesel” Lamb played a pivotal role in the feud and was significantly involved in orchestrating the assault on the opposing clubhouse. A search of his property in Hartford Gardens in Timperley revealed a cannabis farm with the potential to yield up to half a kilogram of Class B drugs.
His DNA was additionally found on a 3D-printed firearm confiscated in Manchester. The investigation discovered a hybrid 3D-printed handgun design referred to as the PG22 Maverick, capable of discharging .22 calibre rounds once fully constructed with metal components.
Retired Detective Constable Mike Armstrong-Porter who worked in our Salford district said: “This investigation originally started out as a call in relation to a road traffic collision, what transpired turned out to be a world of criminality we were not expecting.
“This, in essence, was a real-world ‘Sons of Anarchy’ dispute between two motorcycle clubs with a real disliking to each other.
“From that initial RTC report, this investigation escalated into an operation that would see us recover deadly, homemade, manufactured firearms capable of causing serious harm.
“These individuals were part of an organised network prepared to arm themselves and others, with complete disregard for public safety. The recovery of 3D printers, digital blueprints, and component parts shows how easily technology can be exploited for criminal purposes.
“Thanks to the dedication of officers across multiple forces, we have removed firearms, ammunition, and drugs from circulation thus preventing further violence, and dismantled a gang intent on causing harm.
“We have worked incredibly hard for the past six years on this case, now that it has come to an end, it is pleasing to see six criminals taken off the streets and into prison cells. Thankfully that RTC report led us to where it did, if that did not happen, a lot of potential deadly weapons could have flooded our streets.”
Steve Mason, 36, of HMP Oakwood admitted possession of a prohibited firearm, manufacturing a prohibited firearm, possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and received a nine-year prison sentence.
Dale Austin, 31, of Dukes Crescent, Exmouth, admitted possession of a prohibited firearm and being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and has been sentenced to six years imprisonment.
Leslie Lamb, 43, of Hartford Gardens, Timperley, admitted criminal damage and cultivation of cannabis, he will serve 27 months behind bars.
Also convicted for their involvement in this investigation were:
Luke Emery, 27, of Stockport, admitted criminal damage and has received an 18-month sentence suspended for two years, 150 hours unpaid work; 10 days rehabilitation activity requirement. Emery alongside Lamb were discovered to have exchanged discussions regarding the planned attack on the clubhouse and included photographs of the damage they inflicted that evening.
Emma McCagh, 34, of Rolle Street, Exmouth, pleaded guilty to allowing her premises to be used for cocaine supply and was handed a two-year community order. McCagh, who was Mason’s girlfriend at the time, was arrested in Devon following searches that uncovered resin parts of 3D-printed firearms and a revolver at her property.