Scots forensics teams working furiously round-the-clock to narrow in on warring gangsters
GANG WAR CRACKDOWN Scots forensics teams working furiously round-the-clock to narrow in on warring gangsters
FORENSIC teams are working round-the-clock on the orders of Scotland's top law chief to deal with the number of cases linked to Scotland's raging gangland turf war, we can reveal.
The details emerged in a report placed before a police watchdog about the 55 arrests made so far by cops involved in Operation Portaledge.
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Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC ordered an all out effort to crack down on Scotland's warring hoods
Credit: Alamy
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Property has been attacked during the heated gang war
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Ross 'Miami' McGill is said to have ordered a spate of attacks across central Scotland
Credit: Collect
It's added to the workload of crime scene experts who helped gather evidence for the forthcoming prosecutions expected to go through court.
Fiona Douglas, director of forensic services, told the Scottish Police Authority they were working overtime to process the evidence quicker at the request of the Lord Advocate.
Officers have nicked dozens of suspects since a gang war erupted in March, with Dubai-based hood Ross 'Miami' McGill, 31, said to have ordered the carnage.
Cops have had to investigate a wave of firebombings, machete attacks and murder bids on associates of caged Edinburgh cocaine kingpin Mark Richardson, 38, and his allies in Glasgow's notorious Daniel crew.
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The report reads: 'Forensic Services is working closely with Police Scotland and COPFS colleagues to support Operation Portaledge which is the investigation into organised gang violence in the East and West of Scotland.
'Fifty-five arrests have been made and the specialist forensic support provided by Forensic Services has made a significant contribution to many of these.
'Within Forensic Services this work has consisted of more than 91 cases with more than 227 individual packages of work which are being undertaken across disciplines involving many staff.'
Ms Douglas goes on to explain the need for urgency in dealing with the wave of cases with Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC stepping in to press home the point.
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She wrote: 'At the request of the Lord Advocate these cases are being expedited to ensure that intelligence and evidential reports are provided at the earliest opportunity.
'In order to support this important operation, further overtime is being worked across the relevant teams however there will inevitably be an impact on some of the routine casework being undertaken within the service.
'Managers will continue to liaise with Police Scotland and COPFS colleagues to ensure that this does not impact on high priority casework and discussions will continue within the Forensic Performance Operational Group.'
The issue will be discussed at the SPA meeting tomorrow.
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We told this week how ex-Union Bear McGill, of East Kilbride, is being backed in his gangland turf war by top mob boss Jamie 'Iceman' Stevenson.
McGill has got the 'full protection' of feared criminals linked to the caged 60-year-old cocaine kingpin.
A source said: 'McGill follows instructions via associates of Stevenson, who is still pulling the strings.'
The chaos was triggered by a fake cash scam involving cocaine that belonged to jailed godfather Stevenson.
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A wave of violence erupted across the Central Belt in March after dealers stung the mob supremo's rising star McGill with £500,000 in counterfeit notes.
Cops have so far arrested 55 suspects as part of the Operation Portaledge crackdown on the worst explosion of gangland violence in years.
But tensions between rival groups escalated further after the murders of Lyons gang chiefs Ross Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, on May 31 in Fuengirola, Spain.
Scots cops at first dismissed a link to their arch enemies the Daniels but Spanish authorities insisted the double killing is linked to a decades-long conflict between the crime crews.
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Michael Riley, 44, of Liverpool, is in custody facing extradition to Spain charged with the murders.
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