Yard unveils secret anti-hitmen squad

A secretive Scotland Yard squad which stops the contract killing of Britain's top criminals was today unveiled for the first time.

The highly trained detectives of the Special Projects Team, whose existence has been denied since its formation eight years ago, was finally revealed by Scotland Yard.

The 30-strong team has specialist firearms and surveillance skills and has prevented 35 murders in the past 18 months. While hitmen are paid up to £20,000 to kill other criminals, bystanders are often caught in the crossfire.

The squad has been involved in tracking the killers of an innocent passenger in a car sprayed by a machinegun in Wandsworth as well as another case in which 20 men held a shoot-out at a café in Hackney last year. In that case cleaner Alisan Dogan, 43, another innocent bystander, was murdered.

The Projects Team, acting on intelligence from surveillance officers, tracked down the masterminds behind the killings.

Asif Khan received two life sentences and Jason Brown was jailed for 12 years. Turkey Ates was jailed for 16 years and Patrick Georgio is awaiting sentence in relation to the Hackney shoot-out. Detective Chief Superintendent Sharon Kerr, head of the Met's Flying Squad, said contract killings were targeted because of the dangerous impact they have on London.