Chilling moment drug-dealing drill rapper, 27, blasts gang rival in neck during drive-by on Nottingham estate – as brazen mob of thugs who ‘lived like footballers’ face jail for terrorising city
- Akeem Chand, aka Brutz, was among of gang of gun-toting thugs in Nottingham
- They had boasted about their wealth in music videos while ‘living like footballers’
- A court heard Chand, 27, flaunted illegal earnings with increasingly lavish videos
- Chand was arrested by police following a spate of shootings across Nottingham
- Chand was jailed for life and was ordered to serve a serve a minimum of 20 years
Chilling footage shows the moment a drug-dealing drill rapper blasted a rival gang member in the neck during a broad daylight drive-by shooting.
Akeem Chand, aka Brutz, was among a gang of gun-toting thugs who were caught boasting of their wealth in music videos while ‘living like footballers’.
A court heard the 27-year-old flaunted his illegal earnings with increasingly lavish videos which helped incriminate him and his gangster friends.
He bragged about their drug-funded wealth, posed with jewellery and boasted about how they needed a ‘money counter’ to add up their profits.
Chand was arrested by police following a spate of shootings across Nottingham, which took place in late 2018 and early 2019.
(Left to right): Akeem Chand, 27, Orlando Escoffery, 26, Quarnell Simpson, 23, Devante Neufville, 24, Kiefer Smith, 28, and Alexsandro Woolery, 27
A gun belonging to the gang was found during a raid by police in Nottinghamshire
Large amounts of drugs were found during searches of several properties belonging to gang members
Bundles of cash were among the many condemning pieces of evidence unearthed during police raids
The ‘dangerous’ gang sold cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin across Nottinghamshire. Pictured: drugs discovered during a police search)
During one shooting caught on camera a rival gangster was blasted in the neck as Chand fired multiple shots into his car as it travelled along a road.
Just moments before he and fellow gang member Quarnell Simpson, 24, had set up a hastily arranged ambush in Bilborough, Nottingham.
Footage captured on CCTV cameras showed Chand running along the road after getting out a car driven by Simpson.
Simpson then backed away – luring the victim towards a waiting Chand who then pounced and fired a .44 calibre revolver at close quarters into the car.
He then put members of the public’s lives in danger and discharged two more shots as his victim sped from the scene in panic.
Unbeknown to Chand, the attack on May 9, 2019, had been captured on the victim’s dash-cam – giving police a detailed account of what had happened.
Detectives later found Chand was the leader of a gang that sold vast quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin across Nottinghamshire.
They discovered the crooks were ‘living like footballers or music stars’ splashing cash on expensive jewellery, designer clothes, holidays and music videos.
In a music video (pictured), some gang members were seen enjoying a private yacht during a trip to Mexico
In a music video for Brutz’s Lifestyle, the gang can be seen shopping for Rolex watches
In a music video for the song Lifestyle, rapper Brutz can be seen flaunting wads of cash
Several members of the gang even flew to Mexico’s Caribbean coast where they stayed in a lavish private villa and hired a luxury yacht.
Both were used as locations for a slick music video recorded on the trip, which eventually led to their downfall.
Another music video – published on YouTube – showed members of the gang filming around a block of flats they used as a safe house for storing drugs and guns.
Detectives were further helped by high-definition aerial drone footage which directed them to the location.
The gang became the subject of a covert police operation and listening devices planted in a car caught them openly discussing the sale of drugs and shooting rivals.
Chand and six other Nottingham men were last month convicted of a string of drugs and weapons offences following a 15-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
They were found guilty of conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to possess ammunition without a certificate.
Rapper Brutz (centre) and two of his associates arrive to their luxury holiday on Mexico’s Caribbean coast
In a music video, the group can be seen enjoying a private yacht – despite having almost no discernible legal income between them
A ‘diamond-encrusted’ bracelet is shown off during a Brutz music video with the caption: ‘Morning intentions’
Each of them had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to supply class A and class B drugs. Chand was jailed for life on Monday to serve a serve a minimum of 20 years.
Orlando Escoffery, 26, was jailed for 23 years while Quarnell Simpson, 24, and Devante Neufville, 24, were jailed for 20 years.
Alexsandro Woolery, 27, and Kiefer Smith, 28, will be sentenced at a later date for the same offences.
Ravan Mather-Simpson, 25, pleaded guilty before the trial to conspiracy to supply class A and class B drugs.
He was sentenced to nine years and was also jailed for a further 16 months for separate incident of affray.
Sarah Aplin, 27, previously admitted allowing a premises to used for the supply of controlled drug and was jailed for two years and three months.
Zak Charles, now 19, was found guilty of the conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to possess ammunition without a certificate.
The court was told the gang was run by Chand (pictured, in one of his music videos) who controlled a ‘sophisticated and highly profitable’ network of drug lines
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Bull, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: ‘As this footage makes clear, these men were extremely dangerous’
Charles was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in a young offenders’ institution.
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Bull, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: ‘As this footage makes clear, these men were extremely dangerous.
‘Led by Chand they had built up an extremely profitable drugs empire and were very clearly willing to use potentially lethal violence to protect it from people they saw as rivals.
‘Discharging a firearm in a residential street was an act of staggering recklessness that showed a callous disregard for the safety of local residents.
‘It was only a matter of good fortune that nobody was killed or seriously injured in this attack.
‘Ultimately it was this ready use of violence that led to this gang’s undoing.
‘Shooting incidents are both incredibly rare and extremely serious, so when they do happen we dedicate whatever resources we deem necessary to finding the people responsible and taking their weapons off the streets.
‘One of the first questions we ask in investigations like this is of course ‘why?’ In this case that question led us directly to Chand and his associates, who will each spend a very considerable time in jail as a result of their actions.
‘I hope that today’s sentences send a very clear warning to other criminals about the potential consequences of acquiring and using illegal firearms.
‘We will find you and when we do we will lock you up for a very long time.’
Source: Read Full Article
