LONDON, England, May 7- As Wilfried Zaha prepares to link up with his new Manchester United team-mates this summer, the gang culture he has managed to steer clear from in south London has been brought to light by revelations surrounding the young winger’s elder brother.
Zaha, 20, officially became a United player in January after Sir Alex Ferguson sanctioned a £15million deal to bring him north from Crystal Palace, where the player has spent the last four months on loan.
But it was a different story for the gifted winger’s brother, who appeared to revel in his links with the violent mobs that terrorise neighbourhoods.
Herve even bragged he was a “general” in one of the most feared gangs in London, responsible for scores of stabbings, shootings and robberies.
As Wilfried, 20, prepares to join Manchester United from Crystal Palace, it was revealed his 24-year-old brother claimed to be a leader of the notorious Don’t Say Nothing crew, also called DSN.
Herve goes by the gang name Zeltor. In 2009, he wrote on a Bebo profile page: “General Zeltor on dis ting say no mre.”
And in a chilling reference to gangland violence, he posted: “All u aluminium gangsters coverd by other peoples fame, u knw hu u r, get real. level has changed. my TEAM DO, DID AND THEY F****** DOES THIS THING. so n***** please, cos u dnt wanna see my n*****s squeeze, cos if we do we leave ur f****** body ina fridge, let it freeze…let it go six feet deep…bigup my up all my DSN mandem say no mre.”
DSN rose to notoriety in 2007 after a pitched battle took place at a shopping centre in Croydon, South London. Members fought with a rival gang in broad daylight using machetes and bats as shoppers looked on horrified.
Dozen of stabbings around the area have been linked to the thugs along with a string of shootings.
In July 2012, Herve received a 12-month conditional discharge for criminal damage after launching a paving slab through a car window while a woman sat at the wheel. He was also ordered to pay £100 compensation, £100 to the victim and £80 court costs.
His Facebook page features a large picture of him standing next to his younger brother, who joined Palace as a schoolboy and quickly rose to prominence with his silky skills catching the eye of United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Mirror has also seen an online music video of Herve posing with members of DSN.
There is no suggestion England star Wilfried himself has ever been part of the gang or its crimes.
One source said: “Wilfried has come from a really difficult background and has done well to stay out of all the gang warfare that goes on in those areas.
“He’s also now involved with charities that are trying to help these communities to give something back.” One of DSN’s most notorious gangsters is Joland Giwa, who goes by the streetname of Dexter, and also declares himself a general.
He became known to the public after sneaking a camera phone into his cell at Rochester jail in Kent where he posted pictures showing off his bulging biceps – honed in the prison gym.
In one post on Facebook while still locked up, Giwa declared that “DSN Dexter is out real soon”, bragging that he will “touching road real soon” – slang for being released. DNS, which is even feared by the police over its violence, declared a turf war in 2007 – battling any rival gangs who tried to tread on their toes. They had claimed an entire town centre as their “patch”.
Brawls raged in front of horrified shoppers, with youths using knives, rakes, brooms, spades and anything that came to hand to batter their opponents.
In one fight a youth was chopped in the head by a machete. DSN also used belts fitted with chunky metal buckles – which would leave victims with wounds needing dozens of stitches – to attack rivals.
Arch enemies include SMN – Shine My Nine – and Gipset.
– Daily Mail and The Mirror
