Henchman who sparked Edinburgh gangland turf war over botched drug deal caged
A man who allegedly sparked the recent gangland turf war over a botched drug deal is said to be the henchman for gang boss Mark Richardson.
Michael Heeps was jailed this week for his part in firebombings and a 'machete attack' across Scotland's central belt and it is now claimed he orchestrated the transaction which ripped off Dubai-based Mr Big Ross McGill after he was allegedly handed £500K in fake money for a raft of cocaine.
Heeps, 34, was one of six men convicted at the High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday over a series of crimes, including a machete attack that left a man's hand hanging off and torching the cars of prison officers at HMP Addiewell, the Daily Record reports.
A judge branded their actions as 'out of control gangsterism.'
John Murray, 25, Lee Ridgway, 32, Dale Bauld, 33, Damien Mullen, 26, and Ryan McGovern, 33, were also jailed and all of the men will be sentenced next month.
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An underworld source told the Record that Heeps is one of Edinburgh kingpin Richardson's most trusted lieutenants.
He explained how Heeps organised the drug deal in the United Arab Emirates from his jail cell while he was on remand in prison.
The source said: "Heeps sent a wee guy over to be introduced to Ross McGill through a middleman from Edinburgh and told him to build up some trust and buy smaller weights of cocaine from him.
"Once he had McGill onside, he was told to buy five kilos of cocaine and use the fake bank notes.
"Heeps obviously thought McGill was just a new guy on the scene who he could bump and that he'd get away with it.
"But McGill vowed revenge went after everyone involved in ripping him off."
First, McGilll went after the Edinburgh middleman who introduced him to the small time player Heeps had sent over.
It was previously reported how McGill learned that the middleman had fled to Thailand and had his gang abduct him off the street before he was brutally slashed across the face.
The small-time player vanished and is believed to be currently hiding out in Dubai, but McGill's gang have targeted his family in recent weeks.
The source explained how going after the people involved in the drug deal was not enough for McGill and he decided anyone with a connection to Richardson would be attacked.
He added: "McGill puts the blame of all of this directly at the feet of Richardson.
"Heeps had obviously told Richardson he was going to do this because none of their crew do anything without the boss giving his approval, but they seriously underestimated Ross McGill.
"He had no real enemies in Scotland at that point and nobody really knew about his capabilities.
"But now he has unleashed the biggest gang war Scotland has ever seen."
(Image: Daily Record.)
McGill launched the feud on the streets of Scotland by ordering his Tamo Junto gang (TMJ) to firebomb and shoot bullets at businesses and homes in Edinburgh and East Lothian linked to Richardson throughout March.
In April, the war spread to Glasgow as McGill targeted the notorious Daniel crime clan over their long term association with Richardson.
Head of the family Steven 'Bonzo' Daniel and his uncle Norman had their homes torched in Bishopbriggs.
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Towards the end of May, the feud escalated when two men were attacked with machetes in a garage in East Kilbride owned by Robert Daniel.
Just days later top Richardson associate David McMillan was attacked with a blade outside his home in Edinburgh by four thugs.
A truce was reported to have been agreed on May 30, but the following day Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons were shot dead outside a bar in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol.
Last month Spanish cops blamed an 'internal member' of the Daniel clan for the double murder.
In recent weeks, chilling footage released by TMJ promised the war against Richardson will 'continue for many years to come.'
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