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Mar 19, 2024

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

Gary Moody also took part in pre-arranged fights for money in prison Sign up to the MySalford newsletter to keep up with what's happening in and around the city We have more newsletters Sign up to the

Gary Moody also took part in pre-arranged fights for money in prison

Sign up to the MySalford newsletter to keep up with what's happening in and around the city

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A prison 'hitman' serving a life sentence earned thousands of pounds by targeting fellow inmates and staging pre-arranged fights behind bars, a court was told. Gary Moody, 37, was paid to attack other prisoners in contract hits and take part in bare knuckle bouts between convicts, a judge heard.

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

In the days after the attack, Moody rang a relative to ask if a £2,000 bounty he had been promised for the hit had arrived in a bank account. He said: "I have done them proud, I have done it for them." At Manchester Crown Court, Moody was jailed for another eight years after he was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.

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Zammit, 39, who was sentenced to nine years and four-months in prison in 2014 after he was convicted of running a drugs gang, refused to be treated for his injuries or take any questions over the assault, the court was told. He even instructed police to turn the body worn cameras off - but was heard to threaten retaliation on Moody and his family.

The court heard Moody was originally jailed for an indeterminate period for public protection in 2005 after he robbed three university students at knifepoint in just seven days.

During the attacks one 19-year-old had a large knife held to his throat and another teenager had the blade held to his chest whilst cash, mobile phones, and bank cards were taken and used in high street stores.

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

The attack on Zammit occurred on April 14, 2020 ,whilst inmates were taking their daily exercise. Danielle Gilmour, prosecuting, said: "The defendant had agreed on behalf of others to injure another inmate, Christopher Zammit. Phone conversations recorded prior to the incident show clearly that the defendant was expecting to be paid £2000 for carrying this out.

"When it came time for the inmates to return to their cells, the defendant took his chance. The inmates lined up to re-enter the main building but had to be scanned by guards using a wand-type device in a central rotunda.

''The defendant was lined up behind Zammit but as Zammit stepped forward, the defendant came up behind him and stroked the side of his face with his hand.

"At this point blood started gushing from his face and upon realising this the defendant attempted to flee, with Zammit and the prison officers chasing him around the exercise yard.

''The prison officers detained him and were able to keep the pair apart. Zammit had a 5/6-inch slash on his face which had to be glued shut. The wound came open and had to eventually be stitched up again. He refused to give a victim statement or assist the prosecution in any way.

"Prison officer and witness, Susan Newton, later questioned the defendant who revealed he was carrying a razor blade. However, they never found the blade as it was buried in the prison yard and hard to find.

"The defendant pleaded not guilty and was found guilty after trial but refuses to acknowledge the decision, holding that another prisoner was responsible for the attack."

In mitigation for Moody, who is currently at Lowdham jail in Nottingham, defence counsel Keith Harrison said: "The defendant has now spent 14 years in custody, this sentence was initially supposed to be short but was lengthened for aspects of his behaviour.

''He behaves for a period of time and then misbehaves in custody. This pattern shows how seemingly never ending sentences produce a sense of hopelessness in the individual. However, this is not an excuse to explain why he did this.

"Before this incident he had moved from one prison to another in Northumbria and this transfer ended with him clashing with the staff at that new prison. It is not all bad with his character though as he continues to have the support of his family. However, that is all I can say as he continues to deny the offence. There are good sides but there are sides that are less appealing.”

Judge John Potter told Moody: "You were, in effect, a quasi-hitman and were happy to indulge in this within the criminal estate. This was something you were known to be involved in, for example we heard how you took part in pre-arranged fights for money in prison. Subsequent telephone calls to others made this clear."

Zammit was originally jailed for five years for the 2004 manslaughter of businessman Frank Buckley, 47, who was kicked and stamped on outside a bar during a family night 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' cannabis after £570,490 worth of the narcotics were seized following a major covert operation.

The original version of this article stated that Christopher Zammit was still serving a sentence. He has since been released. This has been corrected.