Erdal Ozmen was shot dead aged 45 on Dynevor Road, near Stoke Newington High Street, on Tuesday (August 5).
Research by Hackney Gazette shows the man was involved in an infamous gang called the Bombacilar, Turkish for The Bombers, according to archive BBC reports.
Baybasin was once alleged to have controlled 90 per cent of the heroin on Britain’s streets from a shop in Haringey by police, though he was cleared of a drug smuggling charge, according to the Times.
The Bombacilar specialised in extorting Kurdish and Turkish businesses in the UK.
On one occasion, 20 people forced their way into a Turkish cafe in Stoke Newington – which was not named in reports – with samurai swords, metal bars, pool cues and a gun.
AS IT HAPPENED: Major road closed in Stoke Newington after man shot dead
Shots were fired and a finger was sliced off, the BBC reported.
The Bombacilar’s arch rivals are reported to be the Tottenham Turks.
After gang warfare broke out across Haringey, Ozmen was convicted of the attempted murder of a Turkish man in Tottenham in 2003.
He and an accomplice wounded the man in his right arm, according to Newsquest.
At the age of 25, he was jailed for 15 years with five others after they pleaded guilty to offences involving firearms, violence, extortion and blackmail, according to Shutterstock.
READ MORE: ‘Motive remains unclear’ police say in update after dad shot dead in Stoke Newington
Despite police raids and a crackdown in the 2000s, the gangs appear to continue to operate, with violence spilling into the streets of Hackney and north London.
A bullet that hit a nine-year-old girl in the head outside a Turkish restaurant in Dalston last year was intended for a leading figure of the Bombacilar, according to the Sun.
The girl miraculously survived though the gunman has never been found.
A man, Javon Riley from Tottenham, has denied four charges of attempted murder and an alternative charge of causing grievous bodily harm.
A court heard in July that the shooting appeared to have been part of “an ongoing dispute” between two rival groups in London known as the Tottenham Turks and the Hackney Turks, or Bombacilars, but the “immediate reason for it was unknown”.
READ MORE: Girl, 9, shot in ‘planned assassination of rival gang members’ in Dalston
Despite serving a long prison sentence at 25, Ozmen was jailed again in 2021 after admitting to producing cannabis.
The Daily Gazette reported that Ozmen was found with two others sleeping in the £1m cannabis factory in a disused care home in Colchester.
The report states that Ozmen was Kurdish and travelled to the UK in 2000 after being persecuted by the Turkish authorities.
Ozmen, or Osman as it is written on some paperwork, recently shared pictures on TikTok of time spent in HMP High Down.
He captioned one post “HMP thug life”.
@adirerdal1 #hackney #tottenham #mandem #brotherhood #family ♬ Kayra Shakur – orijinal ses – .
Since leaving prison, Ozmen had started running a coffee shop next to Good Pizza, according to Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
He had managed the business for two weeks when he was shot dead while closing up in the early hours of the morning, it adds.
The business has no sign, and the black front door is the only area where police tape is remaining, with a police car waiting outside.
Tributes to Ozmen have pleaded for “unity and solidarity”, saying “enough is enough”.
One, translated from Turkish, reads: “So, are you very happy now? The man had children.
“Aren’t we all people of the same society? Shouldn’t we have unity and solidarity?
“Isn’t it a shame for the mothers and fathers who cry behind us?
“I don’t live in Hackney, but my only wish is that this doesn’t go on like this.
“When we could have unity and solidarity, how awful it is to have this instead. I haven’t seen these kinds of things in life before, but I feel deeply sorry for the families.
“Tomorrow, the same could happen to you too, my brothers.
“Enough is enough. The person you killed was a very brave young man.
“I met him in a short time. My brothers, there is no end to these roads, pull yourself together.”
Residents have expressed fear that, like the young girl in Dalston, others could be caught in the gangs’ crossfire.
Liza Dodds told the Hackney Gazette: “Anyone of us could have gone out to the shops and been shot at accidentally.
“That’s the terrible thing, isn’t it? Children live here. It has got nothing to do with this community.”
The motive for the murder “remains unclear” to the police who have not made any arrests.
Officers continue to appeal for information from anyone who saw or heard anything unusual, such as “people shouting, or a loud vehicle”.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Police were called at 12.18am on Tuesday, 5 August to Dynevor Road, N16 to reports of gunshots.
“Officers arrived and found Erdal suffering with gunshot injuries. Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.
“Erdal’s family continue to receive support from specialist officers.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact 0208 345 3775 quoting CAD 108/5AUG, or the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to give information anonymously.
