Man arrested in Portugal over Manchester murder

A man has been arrested in Portugal over a Manchester gang murder which saw a 16-year-old boy chased and hacked to death with machetes.

Alexander John Soyoye, known as John, was killed in the Moston area of the city in November 2020 amid a violent conflict between rival street gangs, exacerbated by social media and drill rap lyrics.

Six men and a teenage boy were convicted of his murder in 2021 while a seventh man was convicted of manslaughter.

This week the Polícia Judiciária detained a 25-year-old Portuguese national in the capital Lisbon and said he would face extradition proceedings.

In a statement, the force said the man had returned to Portugal after Soyoye's death and had been "working in construction without declaring his identity".

The man was set to be brought before the Lisbon Court of Appeal for "the application of a coercive measure" - a hearing to decide on his remand status.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed it had been made aware that a man had been detained in Portugal in relation to the case.

Brent Tchipenda; Francesco Raji; Christopher Semedo; Antonio Octavio; Ismiel Correia; and Nelson Correia - all aged between 19 and 22 at the time - were convicted of Soyoye's murder and jailed for life with minimum terms of between 20 and 24 years.

A then 16-year-old boy, who could not be named due to his age, was also found guilty of murder and detained for a minimum of 16 years.

Mohammed Al-Jaf, then 21, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and violent disorder. He was jailed for 16 years.

During his killers' trial, jurors were told Soyoye was associated with a Moston-based gang known as M40.

Members of that group were in conflict with a rival gang known as Representing the Danger (RTD), based around Rochdale and Oldham.

Describing the feud, High Court judge Mr Justice Goose said: "It was played out in social media and through drill rap music, with threats of violence, the display of weapons, including firearms, machetes and crossbows.

"Entering the territory of one gang was treated as provocation, to be met by violence or the threat of violence."

On the afternoon of 5 November 2020 a member of RTD was attacked by a group - including Soyoye - in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre.

Jurors heard that evening, at about 18:00 GMT, a large group of RTD members carrying machetes, knives and other weapons descended on Birchenall Street in Moston, seeking revenge.

A group of M40 members including Soyoye - also armed with similar weapons -met the group but were outnumbered.

Soyoye was injured and tried to flee, but became separated from his group and fell to the ground.

Police said he was surrounded by nine men and boys, who repeatedly stabbed and kicked him to death.

Detectives investigating the murder found rap lyrics on a mobile phone seized from the 16-year-old boy which bragged about killing "MD" - a nickname police said was used by Soyoye.

After a first trial for his killers, nine men were also convicted over a plot to attack RTD gang members in revenge for Soyoye's death.

However one of those men, Ademola Adedeji, had his conviction for conspiracy to inflict GBH quashed on appeal after judges heard he was wrongly identified in a drill rap video related to the gang conflict.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.