Although the gang war was centred around Moss Side, young males from neighbouring areas would be drawn into the conflict resulting in a number of deaths and regular shooting incidents in South Manchester throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
[7] In 1996, an offshoot gang was identified (Young Gooch) which gained a frightening reputation for the violence and guns its members used.
[5] By the mid 2000s the Gooch had grown to become a vast gang made up of a number of smaller offshoot crews based around south Manchester.
Ten members of south Manchester's Gooch gang were put on trial in October 2008 for a catalogue of gang-related crimes.
[6] Gang members Colin Joyce and Lee Amos had been arrested in 2000, when they had been apprehended at their 'nerve centre' in a house in Moss Side, found with an 'extraordinary array of firearms'.
[7] In April 2009, Joyce and Amos were among 11 members of the 'Gooch gang' who were found guilty and charged with a 'catalogue of crimes' which included the murder of Ucal Chin and Tyrone Gilbert.
[9] Their trials were held 35 miles away at Liverpool Crown Court to lower the risk of witness intimidation from other gang members.