Drug Gang Killed Rivals To Steal Client List

Four drug dealers have been found guilty of ambushing and stabbing to death two rivals to steal their client list.

Aaron Carriere, 21, and Josiah Manful, 20, were lured to a quiet residential road in Leytonstone, east London, where they were "boxed in" by four cars.

They were then stabbed 24 times in less than a minute.

Although there were drugs and cash in the car, only one item was stolen - a phone containing their drug dealing "client list".

Gang members Devonte Campbell, Casey Jones, Alex Bernard and Omar Hassan were all found guilty of two counts of murder and will be sentenced later.

Opening the murder trial last year, prosecutor Lisa Wilding QC said the victims were subjected to a "swift, frenzied, utterly brutal attack" in their black Ford Fiesta on Montague Road.

Despite suffering 11 wounds, Mr Manful managed to get out of the driver's seat to call for help before collapsing.

Both men were pronounced dead at the scene following the attack on 1 March last year.

Each of the defendants played their part in the murders, with some wielding knives, some lending support through physical intimidation and others acting as getaway drivers.

Afterwards, some of the defendants tried to evade capture by dumping cars and fleeing the country.

Mr Carriere was a "successful drugs dealer" who traded in crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis in Leytonstone, jurors heard.

Unbeknown to him, he was the subject of an undercover police probe.

Mr Manful had apparently been worried for his safety and had stashed a lock knife in his boxer shorts, the court heard.

Campbell, Jones, Bernard, and Hassan, all from east London, denied two counts of murder.

Fellow east Londoners Wail Alawi, 23, Abraar Amin, 18, and a 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were cleared.