The Slams, also referred to as the Slam gang, were a group of young criminals originating from Mamendin, located in the Galactic Core. They began their criminal careers there with confidence schemes and identity thefts. Subsequently, they traveled throughout the galaxy, primarily within the Core, engaging in various scams. They gained notoriety for their audacious theft of the entire treasury of Vuma; the stolen crystalline vertex brought the planet to the brink of financial ruin.
Roper Slam, a master of deception, and Valadon, an expert in identity fraud, co-founded and led the gang. Waldo, a security specialist, and Ukiah, a weapons and defense authority, were the only other members; they deliberately kept their numbers small to ensure unwavering loyalty. The Slams maintained meticulous records and possessed numerous sets of false identification documents for creating fake personas.
The gang was apprehended and incarcerated within the Greylands Security Complex on Tentator, but they successfully escaped from the poorly maintained maximum-security facility. However, their attempt to infiltrate a Commerce Guild security vault ended in failure, leading to their recapture in 24 BBY and subsequent return to prison. Their vessel, an Ubrikkian star yacht, was later seized and utilized by the Jedi during their mission to Romin to locate scientist Jenna Zan Arbor.
Soon after being re-imprisoned at Greylands, the Slams once again orchestrated an escape by bribing the warden. Seeking refuge, they surprisingly fled to Romin, where Slam, unknowingly, encountered Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (who was impersonating Slam) at a lavish party for the world's elite, hosted by the planet's tyrannical dictator Roy Teda. They conversed while sipping quint-berry juice.
Subsequently, the Slams aligned themselves with Teda and Zan Arbor as they fled the escalating conflict on Romin, triggered by a rebellion of its oppressed citizens led by Joylin. The gang harbored intense resentment towards the Jedi for impersonating them. The criminal faction, under Zan Arbor's leadership, escaped in the Slam's recovered yacht to the Mid-Rim planet of Falleen, intending to join forces with Granta Omega, a sworn enemy of the Jedi Order. However, the Jedi pursued them, thanks to a tracking device planted by Kenobi's Padawan, the 17-year-old Anakin Skywalker.
Despite this, Slam and Valadon managed to elude the Jedi and flee Falleen alongside Omega and Zan Arbor, heading to Coruscant, the galactic capital, to launch a significant attack against the Republic. During the attempted Bank of the Core Plaza robbery and Senate assassination plot (which targeted Supreme Chancellor Palpatine), Slam and Valadon were apprehended once more and returned to prison.