Who are the Arifs and did they know the Kray Twins?

THE Arifs were once dubbed ‘Britain’s No. 1 crime family’.

Here we take a look at the London-based criminal mafia and their reign of terror since the late 1960s.

1

Who are the Arif brothers?

The Arifs are a Turkish criminal organization based in south-east London.

The gang is believed to have been led by brothers Deniz, Mehmet and Doğan Arif, but other brothers have been believed to have been involved in the various operations, including Bekir Arif, also known as “The Duke”.

Set up in London’s Rotherhithe and Old Kent Road areas in the 1950s, the Arifs had become one of the most feared gangs in the capital by the 1980s.

What crimes have the Arifs committed?

The Arifs were heavily involved in a range of crimes including armed robbery, drug trafficking and other extortion-related activities in London’s underworld.

The gang rose to prominence as they filled the vacuum left by the demise of the Kray twins, as well as the notorious Clerkenwell and Brindle families.

How were the Arif brothers arrested?

Bekir Arif was the third of seven brothers to be sentenced to lengthy prison terms.

In November 1990, brothers Dennis and Mehmet Arif were arrested in Surrey when they tried to rob a security van while wearing Ronald Reagan masks.

In 2016, Bekir Arif was sentenced to 11.5 years in prison for conspiracy to supply amphetamines and violating a Serious Crime Prevention Order.

The court heard how police raided a Somerset caravan in July 2015 and seized 48 kilos of high-quality amphetamine, which was 66 per cent pure and was worth up to £1.5million on the street.

Police officers also found heroin and cannabis in the trailer, where drugs were found stuffed under pillows and in kitchen cupboards.

At the time, Dennis and Mehmet Arif were serving 22 and 18 years respectively for their crimes.

Arif has convictions dating back to 1977, when he was imprisoned for his role in an armed robbery that killed a security guard.

In 1999 he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for conspiring to supply 100kg of heroin worth £12.5million.

Despite a series of arrests and successful convictions, the family is said to have maintained links with Turkey, with accomplices allegedly monitoring drug shipments to mainland Europe.

The extent of their operations today is unclear.

Did the Arifs know the Kray twins?

The Arifs are known as one of several criminal organizations that replaced the Kray Twins.

When Ronnie and Reggie Kray were imprisoned, the Turkish Cypriot crime mob took over their domain.

Also involved in seizing control of London’s underworld were the Clerkenwell crime syndicate and the Brindle family, with whom they were involved in a highly publicized gang war in the 1990s.

Britain’s most notorious gangsters and criminals

• The notorious prisoner Charlie Bronson
• The Kray Twins from London’s East End
• Ex-gangster Marvin Herbert
• Ex-armed robber Vic Dark
• Former gangland enforcer Brian Cockerill
• Notorious British criminal Carlton Leach
• Paul Sykes – Known as Britain’s toughest prisoner
• Kevin Lane – sentenced to life in prison for murder
• Convicted murderer Tony Argent
• Former drug smuggler Chet Sandhu
• The fearless British hardman Lee Duffy
• Career criminal Curtis Warren
• Gangster Charlie Richardson
• A-Team leader Terry Adams