Two Mexican restaurants have been stripped of their licences after reportedly being taken over and turned into a “club house” by a gang of violent drug-dealers.
The High Chapparrall and Desperados were hotbeds of drugs and violence according to police, who carried out an undercover sting at the Greenwich eateries in spring last year.
The operation was connected to an investigation into “the Cherry Boys”, a gang that officers believed were “frequenting” The High Chapparrall.
The venue was “regularly used by males involved in drugs supply, who exerted undue influence over the staff, including door supervisors”, according to a police report of the undercover visits.
One man was attacked with an empty champagne bottle outside and another punched in the face in separate attacks, the police statement said. Both were told to leave while their attackers were allowed to stay.
Two men also sold cocaine to undercover officers – they were later jailed – and regulars were allowed to smoke cannabis outside the front door, next to bouncers who did nothing to stop them.
Detective Constable Timothy Lockhart said: “I am of the opinion, based on what I’ve seen and heard, that The High Chapparrall was essentially a ‘club house’ for a group of males involved in the supply of drugs, who were prepared to use violence to people they took exception to.”
A lawyer acting for the venue's owners told a Greenwich Council licensing hearing on Monday that an “organised crime gang came to these premises and took them over”, Newsshopper.co.uk reported.
The venues were previously fined for trading mainly in drinks, despite only having permission to serve alcohol with food.
The premises, which are on two floors of the same building and owned by the same family, face closure if they cannot overturn the council’s decision to revoke their premises licences.
They can continue to trade for 21 days while they consider an appeal.
