Police Scotland make 50th arrest over east-west gang feud

BBC News

2 days ago

Detectives investigating a gangland feud that has led to assaults, shootings and fire bombings across the east and west have made a 50th arrest.Yusef Duale, 18, has been charged with wilful fire-raising, danger to life and attempted murder following blazes at three properties in Edinburgh.The addresses in Pitcairn Grove, Prestonfield Crescent and Niddrie Marischal Crescent were all targeted on 17 April.Duale, of Liverpool, made no plea and was released on bail following a private appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
The investigation, called Operation Portaledge, was launched in response to a series of violent incidents since March.Two rival crime families - the Daniels and Lyons - have been linked to the attacks.Last month Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, and Ross Monaghan, 43, were shot dead at a bar in Fuengirola on the Costa del Sol. Both men were senior figures in the Lyons crime group and there was speculation the Spain shootings were linked to the tit-for-tat attacks in Scotland.But three days after the murders Police Scotland said they were not aware of any evidence connecting them to the feud.The force later maintained its position after a Spanish detective said the suspect, who will face an extradition hearing in October, was a member of the Daniel group.
Officers have visited thousands of homes and stopped hundreds of vehicles in Scotland as part of their investigations.Among the incidents shots were fired in Niddrie, where some of the violence has centred. Hours later more shots were reported on the other side of the city.Then in April, a house was deliberately set on fire in Hay Drive, Niddrie, which spread to a neighbouring property.The violence quickly moved west with more deliberate fires and serious assaults - one of which resulted in a 72-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy being taken to hospital.They were attacked at a house in Egilsay Crescent in Glasgow's Milton.Last month, officers in the east were again called to a property on Marischal Crescent in the early hours after a Ford Transit van went up in flames.Five minutes later a Range Rover Evoque was found alight about half a mile away on Campion Road.Many of the arrests have been men under the age of 30, including teenagers.
How the feud developed
A series of attacks began on 2 March when a car was set on fire in Edinburgh's Parrotshot areaA beauty salon in Leith and a garage in Portobello were also targeted over a 10-day periodLater, shots were reported as being fired at two properties in Niddrie and Pilton in separate incidentsFurther firebomb attacks were reported on another house in Niddrie at the start of April, just as the first property in Glasgow was targeted in the Robroyston areaA carpet business in Bishopbriggs and another commercial premises in Kirkintilloch were also hit, alongside homes in Glasgow and SteppsIn April, a 72-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were assaulted at a house in Egilsay Crescent in Milton, GlasgowTwo more properties in Bishopbriggs were set alightTwo men were taken to hospital following a serious assault at a garage in East Kilbride on 19 MayA 54-year-old man needed hospital treatment after he was attacked by a group of men at a house at Pitcairn Grove, Edinburgh - the third time an incident was reported at this propertyA large house in the Bridge of Weir was set alight on 2 JunePolice recover firearm believed to be linked to violence from Roseburn Path in Edinburgh on 11 JuneRead the full timeline here.