A top-tier gangster has been sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding a gun attack outside a Turkish restaurant, following his narrow escape from a shooting that left a nine-year-old girl seriously injured.
Beytullah Gunduz, 40, a high-ranking member of the Hackney Turks organised crime syndicate, was convicted of conspiring to murder Onur Guzel, who was shot on June 20 last year. The 38-year-old victim was brutally attacked outside his family-owned restaurant Umut 2000 in Dalston, east London, after threats and attempted extortion amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Sentenced in absence
On Friday, Gunduz declined to appear in court and was sentenced to life imprisonment in his absence, with a minimum term of 20 years. During the televised sentencing at the Old Bailey, Judge Mark Lucraft KC stated that the injuries Mr Guzel sustained were "permanent" and "irreversible".
The judge quoted from Mr Guzel's victim impact statement, in which he expressed his devastation at the incident. Mr Guzel said: "The attack did far more than injuring me physically. It has altered the course of my life. It has taken my sense of safety. I'm trying every day to put the pieces back together but the truth is I am no longer the person I was before this happened."
Gang feud background
Previously, the court had heard how Mr Guzel found himself caught up in a violent gang feud between the Hackney Turks and the Tottenham Turks. Gunduz had been the intended target in a May 2024 shooting, during which a nine-year-old girl was struck in the head outside the Elvin Restaurant in Hackney. He had been seated in the cafe just moments before the incident that left the girl seriously injured.
Following a trial last year, hired lookout and getaway driver Javon Riley, 33, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 34 years for causing grievous harm with intent to the girl and attempting to murder three men.
The subsequent shooting outside Umut 2000 occurred after the Hackney Turks accused Mr Guzel's family of paying the Tottenham Turks £100,000 and demanded the same sum.
Attack details and aftermath
Mr Guzel had been on a break from work and was chatting to his wife on the phone around 10pm when he heard a "loud bang". He told the jury: "I felt numb and I understood something was wrong with me. There was this really loud pinging in my ear. The first thing I done was I checked my chest and arms to see if I have been shot in the chest and arms. I lifted my shirt up and could see I had blood on my lower abdomen."
People dashed out of the restaurant to assist and two police officers administered first aid before Mr Guzel was transported to the Royal London Hospital for treatment. While still in intensive care, Mr Guzel asked for police to visit him so he could inform them about two other shooting incidents in the weeks prior which were attributed to the Tottenham Turks.
Last April, his brother's house was targeted and then two days later, five shots were fired at the restaurant at 2am when it was empty, he said. In November 2024, the brother of Mr Guzel received a chilling text message demanding £100,000 or "the heads will be blown off family members", accompanied by an image of a firearm, the court was told.
At the time of the shooting near his brother's residence, his sister-in-law was expecting a baby, the jury heard. However, the assailants didn't know their exact address and mistakenly targeted a neighbour's house, with bullets piercing through their door.
Following the incident, Mr Guzel's father, who co-owned the restaurant, received a phone call now demanding a staggering £300,000 as the police had been alerted, the court was informed. His pregnant sister-in-law also received a menacing text message stating: "You made it worse by letting the police know and now we are going to ask for more. We are going to do another shooting. The next one will be your head."
Mr Guzel assured the jury that his family never succumbed to paying any money to gangs. Gunduz, however, denied any involvement in the shooting of Mr Guzel, whom he knew from frequent visits to the restaurant. He had a criminal record dating back to 2008, including offences such as possession of an offensive weapon in public, drug-related charges, using threatening words or behaviour, assaulting a constable, and twice damaging a roulette machine after losing money.
In mitigation, Miranda Moore KC stated that Gunduz acknowledged his "life choices" have left his parents without his support and he will have to live with the "shame" of that.
