By Rebecca Marano
A LEEDS GANG member has been jailed for life after being caught with a gun that he was planning to use to attack a rival drug dealer.
Dwight Halliday, 31, of Arthington Street, Hunslet, was handed the life sentence at Leeds Crown Court after being found guilty of possessing a 9mm handgun, ammunition and a silencer with intent.
Dwight Halliday
The court heard that Halliday was engaged in a turf war.
Reece Liburd
Police surveillance officers watched Reece Liburd, 23, of no fixed address, meeting Halliday and walking away holding a suspicious object under his jacket.
Liburd was then found in possession of a bag that contained a 9mm Russian-made semi-automatic pistol. It was loaded with seven 9mm rounds and a silencer.
The gun and silencer Police recovered
Armed police officers arrested Halliday later that evening from an Audi car near Bridgewater Place in Leeds city centre. A search of the car uncovered a pair of gloves that showed Halliday’s DNA and gunshot residue.
Halliday is a key figure in an organised crime gang that supply Class A drugs in the Chapeltown area and beyond.
He has previous convictions for drug offences and had previously been jailed for 12 years for firearm offences, kidnapping, wounding with intent and dangerous driving.
In court Halliday was linked to a shooting incident that happened on Roundhay Road on August 16 of last year.
Around 6pm that day, Halliday was seen driving a black Vauxhall Astra that was involved in a high speed chase with an Audi S3. A passenger in the Audi fired what was thought to be a handgun at Halliday before it crashed into the Astra and drove off at speed.
The police later recovered the Astra and found a spent bullet and a pair of gloves which had Halliday’s DNA on them and gunshot residue.
Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Spencer said: “Halliday and Liburd were arrested during a targeted police operation that came in response to a series of firearms discharges and other incidents linked to a turf war between criminal groups in the area which came to a head in the summer of 2016.
“The organised supply of drugs and the violence that goes with it cause understandable concern in our communities and cannot be tolerated.
“I want to reassure people that we will continue to use every available tactic to proactively target and take action against those who are involved in these offences.”