Two charged over gang feud taking arrest total to 57

A close up of a blue Police Scotland logo printed onto a police van. The logo is a thistle with the words Semper Vigilo written underneath. Below that are the words Police Scotland and Poileas Alba. The van is parked at the side of a street.Image source, Getty Images
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A further two people have been arrested and charged in connection with a gangland feud, bringing the total number of arrests to 57.

Police said a 25-year-old man and a 26-year-old man were arrested in connection with multiple offences in Edinburgh on Monday 18 August.

They were charged over the wilful fire-raising of a property and attempted wilful fire-raising of a car on Gorgie Road, as well as the attempted fire-raising of a property on Barnton Avenue. The incidents occurred between 17 and 18 August.

Both men appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court the day after their arrest.

The gangland feud has led to assaults, shootings and fire bombings across the east and west of Scotland.

The arrests were made as part of Police Scotland's Operation Portaledge which was launched in response to a series of violent incidents since March.

Since then a total of 57 people have been arrested in connection with the violence - although prior to the latest ones there had been no arrests since July.

A Scottish man currently based in Dubai is alleged to have started the feud by targeting a crime group led by convicted cocaine dealer Mark Richardson who is currently in jail.

The attacks later spread across the west of Scotland where there has been rivalry and violence between the Daniel and the Lyons families dating back more than 20 years.

Several people with links to the Daniel family are said to have been targeted in the new wave of attacks.

On 31 May, two prominent figures in the Lyons crime group, Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan, were shot dead at a bar in Spain.

Police Scotland has said there is no evidence to suggest that shooting was planned from Scotland.

How the feud developed

  • A series of attacks began on 2 March when a car was set on fire in Edinburgh's Parrotshot area

  • A beauty salon in Leith and a garage in Portobello were also targeted over a 10-day period

  • Later, shots were reported as being fired at two properties in Niddrie and Pilton in separate incidents

  • Further 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 area

  • A carpet business in Bishopbriggs and another commercial premises in Kirkintilloch were also hit, alongside homes in Glasgow and Stepps

  • In April, a 72-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were assaulted at a house in Egilsay Crescent in Milton, Glasgow

  • Two more properties in Bishopbriggs were set alight

  • Two men were taken to hospital following a serious assault at a garage in East Kilbride on 19 May

  • A 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 property

  • A large house in the Bridge of Weir was set alight on 2 June

  • Police recover a firearm believed to be linked to violence from Roseburn Path in Edinburgh on 11 June

Read the full timeline here.

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