heaven above
October 11th, 2004, 03:49 PM
Your not going to believe this one folks
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Club owners refused 'get out of jail card' Sheffield Star
TWO Sheffield businessmen brothers turned down police help to rid their nightclub of violent drug dealers because they feared reprisals from the gang, a hearing was told.
A senior police officer gave Mohammed Tanwir and his brother Mohammed Jangir a letter to hand over to the gang leaders which indicated that police were on the verge of closing Club Element on Charter Row, Sheffield city centre.
In fact police were pressurising the brothers to close the club themselves and the letter was a "cover" to protect them.
But the brothers refused to accept the "get out of jail card", penned by Superintendent Martin Hemmingway, saying they couldn't close for financial reasons.
Mr Tanwir admitted to Sheffield Council's licensing board the refusal had nothing to do with financial gain - it was because he feared reprisals against his family, staff and management at the club from a gang that had effectively taken control of his premises on Friday nights.
The board refused to renew the public entertainments licence for the club because of the strength of police objections.
The club and its associated Fez Club remains shut after Sheffield magistrates placed a closure order on the premises, following a series of violent incidents in and around the club.
The trouble culminated in three stabbings, a mass reprisal attack that was thwarted by armed police, and a shooting.
Police evidence produced to support objections to the club's licence renewal painted an alarming picture of Sheffield's clubland scene.
Supt Hemmingway told the board that police in Sheffield went to great lengths to stop armed gangs getting "a toe-hold" on Sheffield's nightlife.
He said in recent years police had provided armed protection to some club owners who had stood up to intimidation from gangs seeking lucrative control of events to sell drugs.
Police had been becoming very concerned about activities at Club Element during the summer this year, he added.
Undercover intelligence drew up a picture of gang rivalry between sets of Afro Caribbeans, Asians and Somalis.
The first group had taken control of the club on Fridays when outside promoters ran an R'n'B night called "Q".
But a meeting between the Superintendent and the club owners aimed at cracking down on gang activities was "fruitless to the point of frustration", he said.
"I dictated a letter - it was a 'get out of jail card' to give to others that said the club would be closed on police orders. I also offered them the chance of personal protection," he said.
But he said he was "astonished" to be told the brothers would not shut the club for financial reasons and added: "All the signs were that they were incompetent and purely money driven."
Mr Tanwir said he admitted there had been problems on Friday nights but said he and his brother intended to put things right.
He said his family had felt "frightened and threatened" at the time he had the meeting with Mr Hemmingway.
Mr Tanwir said: "We are family people. We are not money driven and we have no connections whatsoever with any criminal connections.
"We want to help the police and we have no intention of reopening the club without the blessing and approval of the licensing board."
He said the family company also owned Vijays restaurant, the Empire Bar and Bar Matrix in Sheffield and had a business in Nottingham and had never previously experienced any problems.
11 October 2004
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Club owners refused 'get out of jail card' Sheffield Star
TWO Sheffield businessmen brothers turned down police help to rid their nightclub of violent drug dealers because they feared reprisals from the gang, a hearing was told.
A senior police officer gave Mohammed Tanwir and his brother Mohammed Jangir a letter to hand over to the gang leaders which indicated that police were on the verge of closing Club Element on Charter Row, Sheffield city centre.
In fact police were pressurising the brothers to close the club themselves and the letter was a "cover" to protect them.
But the brothers refused to accept the "get out of jail card", penned by Superintendent Martin Hemmingway, saying they couldn't close for financial reasons.
Mr Tanwir admitted to Sheffield Council's licensing board the refusal had nothing to do with financial gain - it was because he feared reprisals against his family, staff and management at the club from a gang that had effectively taken control of his premises on Friday nights.
The board refused to renew the public entertainments licence for the club because of the strength of police objections.
The club and its associated Fez Club remains shut after Sheffield magistrates placed a closure order on the premises, following a series of violent incidents in and around the club.
The trouble culminated in three stabbings, a mass reprisal attack that was thwarted by armed police, and a shooting.
Police evidence produced to support objections to the club's licence renewal painted an alarming picture of Sheffield's clubland scene.
Supt Hemmingway told the board that police in Sheffield went to great lengths to stop armed gangs getting "a toe-hold" on Sheffield's nightlife.
He said in recent years police had provided armed protection to some club owners who had stood up to intimidation from gangs seeking lucrative control of events to sell drugs.
Police had been becoming very concerned about activities at Club Element during the summer this year, he added.
Undercover intelligence drew up a picture of gang rivalry between sets of Afro Caribbeans, Asians and Somalis.
The first group had taken control of the club on Fridays when outside promoters ran an R'n'B night called "Q".
But a meeting between the Superintendent and the club owners aimed at cracking down on gang activities was "fruitless to the point of frustration", he said.
"I dictated a letter - it was a 'get out of jail card' to give to others that said the club would be closed on police orders. I also offered them the chance of personal protection," he said.
But he said he was "astonished" to be told the brothers would not shut the club for financial reasons and added: "All the signs were that they were incompetent and purely money driven."
Mr Tanwir said he admitted there had been problems on Friday nights but said he and his brother intended to put things right.
He said his family had felt "frightened and threatened" at the time he had the meeting with Mr Hemmingway.
Mr Tanwir said: "We are family people. We are not money driven and we have no connections whatsoever with any criminal connections.
"We want to help the police and we have no intention of reopening the club without the blessing and approval of the licensing board."
He said the family company also owned Vijays restaurant, the Empire Bar and Bar Matrix in Sheffield and had a business in Nottingham and had never previously experienced any problems.
11 October 2004
« Previous PageNext »Page 1 of 1