Aggi Crew
Encyclopedia
The Aggi Crew were a criminal drug gang based in the St Pauls
district of Bristol
. The name of the gang was taken from the surnames of the founding gang members. The gang dominated the city's drug market throughout most of the 1990s, until in 1998 six gang members were jailed after being caught with more than a £1 million worth of crack cocaine
.
The power vacuum that this created was quickly filled by Yardie
gangs such as the Hype Crew and Mountain View Posse. Upon their release from prison the Aggi crew quickly set on reclaiming their old territory. Carrying guns and wearing balaclavas, the gangsters went around local bars such as the Black Swan and the Malcolm X Centre and announced the yardies would now have to pay a daily tax of £50 per yardie and £100 per business being run. The yardies did not agree with this however and stormed a cafe run by the Aggis, which doubled as a front for an illegal gambling
operation. Thus was started a small-scale turf war which included a number of shootings, during the course of which the two Aggi crew members robbed the notorious Black and white cafe, a known local drugs haunt, and later shot fireworks
at the building in an attempt to provoke the yardies into a full-on gunfight.
The escalating violence prompted armed police patrols in the St Pauls area. However the patrols were soon withdrawn, as the Aggi crew members were arrested again for violating their parole, so the turf war was ended and the yardie gangs were left to control the city once more.
St Pauls, Bristol
St Pauls is an inner suburb of Bristol, England, situated just north east of the city centre and west of the M32. It is bounded by the A38, the B4051 and the A4032 roads...
district of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. The name of the gang was taken from the surnames of the founding gang members. The gang dominated the city's drug market throughout most of the 1990s, until in 1998 six gang members were jailed after being caught with more than a £1 million worth of crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
.
The power vacuum that this created was quickly filled by Yardie
Yardie
Yardie is a term stemming from the slang name originally given to occupants of "government yards", social housing projects with very basic amenities, in Trenchtown, a neighborhood in West Kingston, Jamaica. Trenchtown was originally built as a housing project following devastation caused by...
gangs such as the Hype Crew and Mountain View Posse. Upon their release from prison the Aggi crew quickly set on reclaiming their old territory. Carrying guns and wearing balaclavas, the gangsters went around local bars such as the Black Swan and the Malcolm X Centre and announced the yardies would now have to pay a daily tax of £50 per yardie and £100 per business being run. The yardies did not agree with this however and stormed a cafe run by the Aggis, which doubled as a front for an illegal gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
operation. Thus was started a small-scale turf war which included a number of shootings, during the course of which the two Aggi crew members robbed the notorious Black and white cafe, a known local drugs haunt, and later shot fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
at the building in an attempt to provoke the yardies into a full-on gunfight.
The escalating violence prompted armed police patrols in the St Pauls area. However the patrols were soon withdrawn, as the Aggi crew members were arrested again for violating their parole, so the turf war was ended and the yardie gangs were left to control the city once more.