Four people have been sentenced for the murder of an innocent man caught up in a gang feud in east London. Cem Duzgan, 21, was shot 11 times at the Clapton FC Club, a Turkish social club on Upper Clapton Road in Hackney, in October 2009.
The gunman, Blaize Lunkula, 28, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years. Three other men—Yusuf Arslan, 24, Ndombasi Makusu, 27, and Christian Barabutu, 22—were also sentenced at the Old Bailey after being convicted of murder. Arslan received 33 years, Makusu at least 28 years, and Barabutu, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was detained for a minimum of 18 years.
Police said ballistics experts estimated the gun was within a foot of Duzgan's head when fired. Sentencing, Judge Anthony Morris QC said Duzgan was 'truly in the wrong place at the wrong time' and caught up in a 'blood-thirsty feud between two drug gangs operating in north London.'
The Metropolitan Police said the murder was part of a 'spate of violent tit-for-tat incidents' between the Tottenham Turks and Hackney Turks gangs in 2009. The first two shootings targeted the Tottenham Turks, prompting a 'Council of War' at a Pound Shop on Tottenham High Road to plan the third attack that killed Duzgan.
Prosecutors said Duzgan, a clothes shop sales assistant, was not the intended victim but became unwittingly involved after investigating a disturbance at the club entrance. Det Insp Simon Ashwin said: 'This will send a clear message that the streets of London cannot be ruled by fear and violence.'
