Joey Pyle

London professional criminal and drug dealer with documented links to the Kray and Richardson underworlds, convicted in 1992 after an undercover operation involving heroin and opium deals.

Editorial standard

Convictions, acquittals, allegations, police descriptions and later underworld claims are kept separate.

East End criminal career

Pyle came from London’s East End and built a long criminal career spanning theft, protection, gambling and drugs. Contemporary reporting described him as one of Britain’s biggest but least publicly known criminals.

Links across rival London firms

Pyle was best man at Charlie Kray’s wedding, visited the Kray twins in prison and was also described as a friend of Charlie Richardson, making him an unusually useful bridge across rival London underworld circles.

Murder trial and assault conviction

At 24 he was tried for the murder of nightclub owner Selwyn Cooney. He was acquitted of murder but convicted of assaulting Cooney shortly before the shooting.

Drug conviction

In 1992 an undercover police operation led to Pyle’s conviction at the Old Bailey for involvement in heroin and opium deals worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Graph role

Pyle links the Krays, Charlie Richardson, London protection rackets, drug trafficking, the Selwyn Cooney case and the later professional-crime generation.

Network links

– The Firm / Kray organization — close underworld associate / family social link – Richardson Gang — friendship / underworld connection to Charlie Richardson – Post-war London underworld — major professional criminal – Joey Pyle drug case — convicted – Selwyn Cooney murder case — acquitted of murder; convicted of assault

Direct people links

– Charlie Kray — best man at his wedding / close associate – Ronnie Kray — visited in prison / underworld associate – Reggie Kray — visited in prison / underworld associate – Charlie Richardson — friend / underworld associate

Sources

– The Independent. Job descriptions that hid brutal life of a criminal (1992-10-31). https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/job-descriptions-that-hid-brutal-life-of-a-criminal-1560614.html – The Independent. Three convicted of £300,000 drug deals (1992-10-31). https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/an-undercover-operation-led-to-the-conviction-of-a-highly-prized-police-target-david-connett-reports-three-convicted-of-300-000-pounds-drug-deals-a3300106.html

Death

Joey Pyle died on unknown in England. The documented cause of death was unknown.