Prisoner carried out £2,000 hit on Salford crime lord in Strangeways train yard

A jail ‘hitman’ serving a life sentence earned hundreds of kilos by focusing on fellow inmates and staging pre-arranged fights behind bars, a courtroom was advised. Gary Moody, 37, was paid to assault different prisoners in contract hits and participate in naked knuckle bouts between convicts, a choose heard.

The convicted robber, from Sunderland, was arrested in 2020 after slashing the face of former bouncer Christopher Zammit, from Salford, in an train yard at HMP Manchester, often known as Strangeways.

Within the days after the assault, Moody rang a relative to ask if a £2,000 bounty he had been promised for the hit had arrived in a checking account. He mentioned: “I’ve performed them proud, I’ve performed it for them.” At Manchester Crown Court docket, Moody was jailed for one more eight years after he was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily hurt with intent.

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Zammit, 39, who’s serving a 9 12 months and four-month sentence after he was convicted of operating a medication gang, refused to be handled for his accidents or take any questions over the assault, the courtroom was advised. He even instructed police to show the physique worn cameras off – however was heard to threaten retaliation on Moody and his household.

The courtroom heard Moody was initially jailed for an indeterminate interval for public safety in 2005 after he robbed three college college students at knifepoint in simply seven days.

In the course of the assaults one 19-year-old had a big knife held to his throat and one other teenager had the blade held to his chest while money, cell phones, and financial institution playing cards had been taken and utilized in excessive avenue shops.

He was accused of throwing boiling oil over al-Qaeda terrorist Dhiren Barot at Frankland most safety jail in Durham, however the cost was dropped after Barot declined to testify. Barot is serving 30 years over for plotting a bombing marketing campaign in Britain and America.

The assault on Zammit occurred on April 14, 2020 ,while inmates had been taking their every day train. Danielle Gilmour, prosecuting, mentioned: “The defendant had agreed on behalf of others to injure one other inmate, Christopher Zammit. Cellphone conversations recorded previous to the incident present clearly that the defendant was anticipating to be paid £2000 for carrying this out.

“When it got here time for the inmates to return to their cells, the defendant took his probability. The inmates lined as much as re-enter the primary constructing however needed to be scanned by guards utilizing a wand-type gadget in a central rotunda.

”The defendant was lined up behind Zammit however as Zammit stepped ahead, the defendant got here up behind him and stroked the facet of his face along with his hand.

“At this level blood began gushing from his face and upon realising this the defendant tried to flee, with Zammit and the jail officers chasing him across the train yard.

”The jail officers detained him and had been in a position to hold the pair aside. Zammit had a 5/6-inch slash on his face which needed to be glued shut. The wound got here open and needed to finally be stitched up once more. He refused to provide a sufferer assertion or help the prosecution in any manner.

“Jail officer and witness, Susan Newton, later questioned the defendant who revealed he was carrying a razor blade. Nonetheless, they by no means discovered the blade because it was buried within the jail yard and exhausting to seek out.

“The defendant pleaded not responsible and was discovered responsible after trial however refuses to acknowledge the choice, holding that one other prisoner was accountable for the assault.”

In mitigation for Moody, who’s at the moment at Lowdham jail in Nottingham, defence counsel Keith Harrison mentioned: “The defendant has now spent 14 years in custody, this sentence was initially purported to be quick however was lengthened for elements of his behaviour.

”He behaves for a time frame after which misbehaves in custody. This sample reveals how seemingly by no means ending sentences produce a way of hopelessness within the particular person. Nonetheless, this isn’t an excuse to clarify why he did this.

“Earlier than this incident he had moved from one jail to a different in Northumbria and this switch ended with him clashing with the employees at that new jail. It isn’t all dangerous along with his character although as he continues to have the assist of his household. Nonetheless, that’s all I can say as he continues to disclaim the offence. There are good sides however there are sides which might be much less interesting.”

Decide John Potter advised Moody: “You had been, in impact, a quasi-hitman and had been joyful to indulge on this throughout the felony property. This was one thing you had been identified to be concerned in, for instance we heard the way you took half in pre-arranged fights for cash in jail. Subsequent phone calls to others made this clear.”

Zammit was initially jailed for 5 years for the 2004 manslaughter of businessman Frank Buckley, 47, who was kicked and stamped on outdoors a bar throughout a household night time out.

In 2014 he was convicted of being the ringleader of a Salford gang that plotted to flood the streets with high-purity cocaine and potent ‘skunk’ hashish after £570,490 price of the narcotics had been seized following a significant covert operation.