Officers in Camden have expelled a dozen members of the drug-dealing teenage gang TMS (The Money Squad) from the area for two years. The gang, one of whose members was shot dead in 2008 in a feud over drugs, are also banned from gathering in groups larger than three following a hearing at Highbury Corner magistrates' court. If they breach the terms of the Asbo they face jail. "It is unprecedented for this number of Asbos to be granted in a job lot," said Sergeant Roger Smith, of the Camden Town and Primrose Hill Safer Neighbourhood Scheme. "This is an innovative approach to crime. The idea is that if a group of individuals are going to cause anti-social behaviour as a group then we are not going to be afraid to deal with them as a group." James King, Camden council's deputy member for community safety, said: "TMS were pretty central to the drugs market. Associated with that were a whole string of other offences, like assault. I think this is being viewed by the Home Office ... as a good way of dealing with drug problems, and we are starting to see the results." The move follows an earlier mass Asbo operation against another notorious Camden Town gang, The African Nations Crew. Orders were granted against ten of its members after a court heard they were involved in crime, drugs and violence in the area. Police say banning the gang led to an immediate reduction in violent crime and robbery in the area - until the TMS stepped in. The TMS Asbos ban gang members from a wide area of Camden Town, including the market, around Regent's Canal and the Tube station. In May 2008, TMS member Sharmaarke Hassan, 17, was shot dead as he sat on a bench overlooking Regent's Canal. Five men have been arrested in connection with his killing. They have all been bailed until mid-January 2009.
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