The Desert Banshees constituted a gang of swoopers that operated on the planet Tatooine during the era of the Galactic Civil War. The Valarian Syndicate annihilated them in 1 ABY.
Kilth Saanu, a female Zabrak, headed the Desert Banshees. Following the Battle of Yavin, the Banshees put forth a proposal to become members of Jabba the Hutt's criminal organization. Consequently, the swoopers were assigned to various missions under the direction of Arrud Barsoomu, who was Jabba's primary enforcer in Mos Eisley. This arrangement allowed the crime lord to assess their suitability for joining his organization.
In 1 ABY, the Desert Banshees received the assignment of escorting the spice dealer Soobu Javeedo as he conducted business within the territory controlled by Lady Valarian, who led the Valarian Syndicate and was Jabba's chief rival. Valarian's henchmen soon ambushed and killed Javeedo along with two swoopers. This incident revealed the Banshees' ambition to join Jabba's organization to Lady Valarian, prompting her to decide to eliminate them preemptively. Subsequently, a group of spacers loyal to Valarian launched an attack near Mos Eisley on Kilth Saanu and four of her thugs, resulting in their deaths during the ensuing gunfight. With the death of their leader, the remaining members of the Desert Banshees dispersed.
The Desert Banshees made an appearance in the 2003 video game Star Wars Galaxies, which was a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game developed by Sony Online Entertainment, and published by LucasArts.[1] This appearance occurred before the game's closure on December 15, 2011.[3] The Desert Banshees featured in the initial release of the game as part of Lady Valarian's Quest Series.[1]
The "Publish 23" update, released on August 31, 2005, led to the deactivation of Lady Valarian's Quest Series, which consequently resulted in the Desert Banshees' removal from the game.