London's murder rate has plunged to its lowest level in a decade following a major police offensive against organised crime gangs, including feared Turkish heroin traffickers and county lines networks. A senior detective has revealed that targeted tactics have driven a significant drop in killings across the capital.
A Significant Drop in Homicides
The Metropolitan Police confirmed there were 97 homicides in London in the year to January 2026, a notable decrease from 109 in 2024. This represents an 11 per cent reduction and marks a substantial improvement from 2021, a peak year which saw 133 killings, including a record 30 teenage victims. In stark contrast, only eight teenagers were among the victims in 2025.
Detective Chief Superintendent Rick Sewart attributed the success to a multi-faceted strategy. This has included the increased deployment of facial recognition technology and educational programmes in schools highlighting the dangers of knife crime. However, he stated that the core of their approach has been "the disarming and dismantling of organised crime groups".
Targeting the Turkish Mafia and County Lines
At the forefront of the police's targets were powerful organised crime syndicates. Detective Chief Superintendent Sewart specifically named Turkish heroin trafficking groups, such as the Bombacilar (the bombers) and their rivals, the Tottenham Boys, as among the most significant threats.
"The Turkish gangs are the number one threat to the UK and London in terms of firearms," Sewart told Metro. He detailed collaborative work with Europol and the National Crime Agency to disrupt gun supply chains. One operation alone, initiated in 2024, led to the recovery of 138 firearms and 2,500 rounds of ammunition from a Turkish organised crime group importing weapons.
Sewart also addressed long-standing feuds, referencing the 2012 murder of Turkish crime family head Ali Armagan, shot dead outside Turnpike Lane station. "We have made significant inroads into them," he asserted regarding these violent rivalries.
Parallel to this, the Met has aggressively tackled county lines drug operations, which often exploit vulnerable young people. These networks, while not always connected to larger groups like the Turkish mafia, send teenagers onto the streets to sell drugs, leading to violent confrontations.
Dawn Raids and Recovery of Weapons
The crackdown was brought to life during a recent dawn raid witnessed by Metro. As part of Operation Yamata, more than 20 officers surrounded a north London home, using an 'enforcer' to break down the door of a 35-year-old County Lines suspect linked to the 'Adam line'. The man was subsequently charged with supplying heroin and crack cocaine.
Sewart explained that intercepting these lines has been crucial. "We have closed a significant number of drugs lines across the capital," he said, adding that this precision targeting has enabled police to increase weapons recovery by 75 per cent in the past year, aided by more stop-and-search activity.
While confident that the falling murder rate is a sustained trend, Sewart cautioned that eliminating all murders is unrealistic. The Met remains focused on organised crime while also addressing other motives like domestic violence. He stressed the continued importance of the force's pledge to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls, noting that women are often exploited to hold weapons or become victims of domestic abuse.
The concerted effort against the pillars of violent crime in London has yielded a historic result, making the capital's streets safer and achieving the lowest per capita murder rate on record.
