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Edinburgh Live
a day ago
- Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh's bitter gangland feud linked back to a decades-old £20k drug heist
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A gangland feud broke out in Edinburgh earlier this year, though tensions have been brewing for decades. The 'wars', which saw homes firebombed and gunshots fired, began in the capital back in March - since spreading across the central belt. According to the Daily Record, the feud dates back to 2001. Just as Tony Blair won his second term for Labour, and the first Harry Potter movie was due for release, a different kind of plot was unfolding at Milton housing scheme in Glasgow. A large stash of cocaine worth about £20,000 belonging to the feared Daniel crime family had been stolen from a safe house on the estate that summer. It had gone missing at a house party at the address. The drugs -unsurprisingly - were not returned or paid for. The Daniel family then learned the drugs had either been sold to or -appropriated by a rival organised crime group, the Lyons. At the time both were battling for control of the drugs trade on the north side of the city. Head of the Daniel family was the formidable Jamie Daniel, one of four brothers from the city's Possilpark. On the other side the Lyons were led by Eddie Lyons snr. He ran a community centre called Chirnsyde in Milton. It was claimed a group based there called the Club Boys - which included his son Steven - had orchestrated the theft. In the organised crime world a drugs debt, no matter how small, must be paid. Failure to do so can result in a loss of face. Jamie Daniel knew that. A wave of attacks by the Daniels followed as they fought to maintain their control of the area's drugs trade. The response was orchestrated by 24-year-old Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll - an up-and-coming figure in the Daniel clan close to Jamie Daniel and in a relationship with his daughter Kelly. First, the Daniel crew tried to shoot Steven Lyons outside a pub in -Lambhill, Glasgow, in September 2001 - but the gunman missed. They then turned their -attention to the Chirnsyde centre. It was torched causing £30,000 of damage and had its minibus trashed. Carroll was in turn blasted twice in the leg with a sawn-off shotgun outside his mum's house in Milton in January 2003 but survived. Just 11 days later, Eddie Lyons's brother Johnny, 49, was shot outside his home in nearby Stornoway Street. The wallet in his back pocket took the impact and the doctors think that may have saved him. Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox In April 2006, as the feud continued, Carroll drove to Cumbernauld where he blasted another of Lyons's sons, Eddie Lyons jnr, at his door but failed to kill him. Then in November that year, Carroll allegedly used a tow rope to topple the headstone of Eddie snr's late son Garry, who was only eight when he died of leukaemia in 1991. The desecration of his grave marked a new low in the escalating conflict. Carroll had crossed a line but was still not satisfied. Two days later he ambushed and attempted to shoot Eddie Lyons jnr for a second time, in Bellshill, Lanarkshire. Lyons suffered minor injuries when his own car rolled over him. A henchman was hit with at least one round but survived. Eight days later the Lyons struck back when Carroll was shot along with a close associate Ross Sherlock in Clelland Avenue, a residential street in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow. Carroll suffered serious injuries as he was hit in the stomach from close range. Sherlock was hit in the legs. The violence culminated in one of the most brazen murders the city had ever seen. On Wednesday, December 6, 2006, a blue Mazda car drew up outside Applerow Motors in Balmore Road, Lambhill, shortly after 2pm. The garage was owned by David Lyons, brother of Eddie snr, and was operated by both him and his nephew Mark. Two men in black overcoats and "old men" face masks and brandishing handguns got out and opened fire in what was later described in court as being like a scene from The Godfather. Eleven shots were fired, leaving mechanic Michael Lyons dead, and his cousin Steven Lyons and Lyons -associate Robert Pickett, 41, seriously injured. Lyons was in plaster for up to 12 weeks with a broken leg and required part of a bullet to be removed from his back. Robert Pickett, who had served time for attempted murder, was left in a coma for a month and lost a kidney after being shot in the stomach. A bloody gangland feud which had largely been conducted in the shadows was now headline news. Two Daniel associates - Raymond Anderson, 46, and James McDonald, 34 - stood trial at the High Court in Glasgow in March 2008. The court heard David Lyons received a "ransom note" at his home after the murder demanding £25,000 - the current value of the allegedly stolen cocaine. It read: "The boys owe me £25,000 and I want what's owed to me. It's for drugs. They all know what it's about. The money doesn't matter to me as it's got to be paid to the piper." Lyons didn't pay the money and handed the letter to the police. The multiple shooting which lasted only a few minutes had taken place yards from a special needs school. (Image: Daily Record) Ironically the school was to be the venue for a public meeting for people to air their growing fears about rising crime and gangland violence in the area. Already concerns had been raised about the role of the Lyons in the running of Chirnsyde and the £1.4million in taxpayers' cash it had received over the years. The murderous events would lead to the closure of the centre and funding finally being withdrawn. High levels of security were put in place throughout the trial which finished in May 2008. The case was heard in court No3 - which has been designed for terrorist accused - and people entering had to pass through a metal detector and police checks. Both Anderson and McDonald were convicted of illegal possession of guns and ammunition, the attempted murder of Steven Lyons and Robert Pickett, and Michael Lyons's murder. They had been heard in secret conversations taped by police talking about the "piper" mentioned in the letter sent to David Lyons. At the time Campbell Corrigan was a detective superintendent with Strathclyde Police and was in charge of the Applerow murder investigation. He became aware of the Daniel clan influence as far back as the 80s when he was a young detective in Govan, Glasgow and saw their rise to power in the city as he built his own career. Campbell retired in 2013. He was the force's last chief constable before Police Scotland was formed. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. He told the Record: "The victim Michael Lyons was an innocent member of the family who just got caught in the Crossfire. "I was aware of the connection with Gerbil to Jamie Daniel's daughter and he directed a lot of the violence that had occurred. When you think of the Lyons on one side and the Daniels on the other side, it is a pretty long-running Glasgow feud." He also described how his team had to overcome "fear in the community" over speaking out about both the Lyons and Daniel families. He added: "These were guys not to be trifled with. It will take a very concerted effort before you are able to undermine them." After the jury's verdict, judge Lord Hardie branded MichaelLyons's murder a "a cold-blooded, premeditated assassination". Lord Hardie ordered the men to serve 35 years each before they could be considered for parole, the highest tariff ever set by a Scottish court. The terms were reduced on appeal to 30. However if the judge thought the tough sentences would stop the carnage, he was mistaken. Less than two years later. Scotland would be shocked by a murder that took the long-running feud to -terrifying new levels.
Daily Record
a day ago
- Daily Record
How a drug theft sparked bloody gangland war between Daniels and Lyons
Decades of gangland war between the two families began with a cocaine theft in 2001. It was the summer of 2001 and Tony Blair had just won a second term in government for Labour. The movie version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was about to be released and The Life of Pi was the year's best-selling book. Over in the tough Milton housing scheme in Glasgow a plot of a different kind was unfolding. A large stash of cocaine worth about £20,000 belonging to the feared Daniel crime family had been stolen from a safe house on the estate that summer. It had gone missing at a house party at the address. The coke, unsurprisingly, was not returned or paid for. The Daniel family then learned the drugs had either been sold to or appropriated by a rival organised crime group, the Lyons. At the time both were battling for control of the drugs trade on the north side of the city. Head of the Daniel family was the formidable Jamie Daniel, one of four brothers from the city's Possilpark. On the other side the Lyons were led by Eddie Lyons snr. He ran a community centre called Chirnsyde in Milton. It was claimed a group based there called the Club Boys – which included his son Steven – had orchestrated the theft. In the organised crime world a drugs debt, no matter how small, must be paid. Failure to do so can result in a loss of face. Jamie Daniel knew that. A wave of attacks by the Daniels followed as they fought to maintain their control of the area's drugs trade. The response was orchestrated by 24-year-old Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll – an up-and-coming figure in the Daniel clan close to Jamie Daniel and in a relationship with his daughter Kelly. First, the Daniel crew tried to shoot Steven Lyons outside a pub in Lambhill, Glasgow, in September 2001 – but the gunman missed. They then turned their attention to the Chirnsyde centre. It was torched causing £30,000 of damage and had its minibus trashed. Carroll was in turn blasted twice in the leg with a sawn-off shotgun outside his mum's house in Milton in January 2003 but survived. Just 11 days later, Eddie Lyons's brother Johnny, 49, was shot outside his home in nearby Stornoway Street. The wallet in his back pocket took the impact and the doctors think that may have saved him. In April 2006, as the feud continued, Carroll drove to Cumbernauld where he blasted another of Lyons's sons, Eddie Lyons jnr, at his door but failed to kill him. Then in November that year, Carroll allegedly used a tow rope to topple the headstone of Eddie snr's late son Garry, who was only eight when he died of leukaemia in 1991. The desecration of his grave marked a new low in the escalating conflict. Carroll had crossed a line but was still not satisfied. Two days later he ambushed and attempted to shoot Eddie Lyons jnr for a second time, in Bellshill, Lanarkshire. Lyons suffered minor injuries when his own car rolled over him. A henchman was hit with at least one round but survived. Eight days later the Lyons struck back when Carroll was shot along with close associate Ross Sherlock in Clelland Avenue, a residential street in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow. Carroll suffered serious injuries as he was hit in the stomach from close range. Sherlock was hit in the legs. The violence culminated in one of the most brazen murders the city had ever seen. On Wednesday, December 6, 2006, a blue Mazda car drew up outside Applerow Motors in Balmore Road, Lambhill, shortly after 2pm. The garage was owned by David Lyons, brother of Eddie snr, and was operated by both him and his nephew Mark. Two men in black overcoats and 'old men' face masks and brandishing handguns got out and opened fire in what was later described in court as being like a scene from The Godfather. Eleven shots were fired, leaving mechanic Michael Lyons dead, and his cousin Steven Lyons and Lyons associate Robert Pickett, 41, seriously injured. Lyons was in plaster for up to 12 weeks with a broken leg and required part of a bullet to be removed from his back. Robert Pickett, who had served time for attempted murder, was left in a coma for a month and lost a kidney after being shot in the stomach. A bloody gangland feud which had largely been conducted in the shadows was now headline news. Two Daniel associates – Raymond Anderson, 46, and James McDonald, 34 – stood trial at the High Court in Glasgow in March 2008. The court heard David Lyons received a 'ransom note' at his home after the murder demanding £25,000 – the current value of the allegedly stolen cocaine. It read: 'The boys owe me £25,000 and I want what's owed to me. It's for drugs. They all know what it's about. The money doesn't matter to me as it's got to be paid to the piper.' Lyons didn't pay the money and handed the letter to the police. The multiple shooting which lasted only a few minutes had taken place yards from a special needs school. Ironically the school was to be the venue for a public meeting for people to air their growing fears about rising crime and gangland violence in the area. Already concerns had been raised about the role of the Lyons in the running of Chirnsyde and the £1.4million in taxpayers' cash it had received over the years. The murderous events would lead to the closure of the centre and funding finally being withdrawn. High levels of security were put in place throughout the trial which finished in May 2008. The case was heard in court No3 – which has been designed for terrorist accused – and people entering had to pass through a metal detector and police checks. Both Anderson and McDonald were convicted of illegal possession of guns and ammunition, the attempted murder of Steven Lyons and Robert Pickett, and Michael Lyons's murder. They had been heard in secret conversations taped by police talking about the 'piper' mentioned in the letter sent to David Lyons. At the time Campbell Corrigan was a detective superintendent with Strathclyde Police and was in charge of the Applerow murder investigation. He became aware of the Daniel clan influence as far back as the 80s when he was a young detective in Govan, Glasgow and saw their rise to power in the city as he built his own career. Campbell retired in 2013. He was the force's last chief constable before Police Scotland was formed. He told the Record: 'The victim Michael Lyons was an innocent member of the family who just got caught in the Crossfire. 'I was aware of the connection with Gerbil to Jamie Daniel's daughter and he directed a lot of the violence that had occurred. When you think of the Lyons on one side and the Daniels on the other side, it is a pretty long-running Glasgow feud.' He also described how his team had to overcome 'fear in the community' over speaking out about both the Lyons and Daniel families. He added: 'These were guys not to be trifled with. It will take a very concerted effort before you are able to undermine them.' After the jury's verdict, judge Lord Hardie branded MichaelLyons's murder a 'a cold-blooded, premeditated assassination'. Lord Hardie ordered the men to serve 35 years each before they could be considered for parole, the highest tariff ever set by a Scottish court. The terms were reduced on appeal to 30. However if the judge thought the tough sentences would stop the carnage, he was mistaken. Less than two years later Scotland would be shocked by a murder that took the long-running feud to terrifying new levels. Tomorrow: We tell how the feud reaches a new and terrifying level when a high-level Daniel gang member is shot dead in a busy supermarket car park in front of shoppers and their young children. We also tell how two men stand trial for the brazen lunchtime murder with one sensationally walking free.
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Daily Record
Gangland feud whistleblower says "cancer of organised crime" allowed to fester
Former Glasgow City councillor Billy McAllister believes the current violence involving the rival Lyons and Daniel families could have been avoided when he first raised concerns with the authorities in 2000. The man who first exposed the criminal activities of the Lyons family 25 years ago has slammed police and politicians for ignoring his warnings of future bloodshed. Whistleblower Billy McAllister says the current murderous feud with the Daniel crime clan could have been avoided had the authorities listened to him at the time. McAllister was speaking as detectives in Spain stepped up their hunt for the killers of Lyons gang members Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons jnr. Both men were shot dead in an Irish bar owned by Monaghan in the Spanish holiday resort of Fuengirola by a lone gunman who escaped in a waiting car. In 2000 Billy first exposed the Lyons family's involvement in the running of the public funded Chirnsyde Community Initiative in Milton, Glasgow. His complaints that the community centre was a cover for organised crime were dismissed for years by both the police and Glasgow City Council. However that all changed in 2006 when Lyons family member Michael Lyons was shot dead in a Glasgow garage by two associates of the Daniel family, Raymond Anderson and James McDonald. The victim's cousin Steven Lyons was seriously injured by the gunmen as was Lyons associate Robert Pickett. Glasgow City Council finally shut down Chirnsyde and evicted members of the Lyons family from the community centre a few days later. At the time a young Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons jnr were both members of the Club Boys - a group of young aspiring criminals attached to the centre. Billy, who is a former SNP councillor, said the latest bloodshed which saw both men murdered in cold blood on Saturday night was avoidable and preventable had the authorities taken action much sooner. He added:"It's shocking that two young men have lost their lives, but what is more shocking is the fact that the assignation was in a public bar where members of the public were going about their lawful business, having a good night out and their lives where put in danger. "Surely given all the intelligence and information they (the police) have on these criminals how was this allowed to happen? "It was wrong for the police and politicians to ignore us. "If they had done an early intervention then maybe a lot of people might just be still living. "Now 25 years later the feud is still ongoing and they (the police) are losing the war." It's estimated that the Lyons run community centre received more than £1.4 million in taxpayers money before it was finally closed down. By this time the Lyons had established themselves as a major organised crime group, at war with their Daniel rivals. Billy added: "The origins of the feud was all drug related, and control of that market. "The Lyons along with the Daniel's were determined to control the north of the city at that time. "They always hated each other going away back to when they where petty criminals. "We kept on complaining but they just ignored it, but low and behold it all came out at the end." Billy won election to Glasgow City Council in 2006 as a local councillor in Milton by vowing to evict the Lyons crime gang from Chirnsyde. He continued: "A top policeman told me that the police and politicians had left the cancer of serious and organised crime too long without addressing the problem head on. "That's why criminality is a growth industry, the risks are very low of getting caught. "The Lyons could have been taken out when they where petty criminals but they have been allowed to go undetected and look where we are now." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. The long running feud was reignited in March this year when the Daniel family and associates were targeted in a series of fire bombings and other attacks. The man alleged to have orchestrated the most recent violence is former Rangers ultra 31 year old Ross McGill who is based in Dubai and said to have close links to the Lyons. His gang Tamo Junto have laid the blame for the double murder on a major gangland figure, said to be a key associate of the Daniel family. It's claimed the Lyons had been feeding McGill information to help his gang track their Daniel targets in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The deaths of Monaghan and Lyons jnr is the most dramatic escalation of the feud to date which has largely been played out in public. In 2010 feared Daniel enforcer and family member Kevin Carroll was shot dead by two men in the car park of an ASDA store in Robroyston, Glasgow. Two years later Ross Monaghan stood trial at the High Court in Glasgow for the murder but walked free after a judge ruled there was no case to answer. In 2017 Monaghan was shot while dropping off his daughter at her primary school in Penilee, Glasgow but escaped with minor injuries. He then relocated to Spain where he opened Monaghan's Bar. Police Scotland has so far arrested 41 people over the most recent incidents in Edinburgh and Glasgow as part of Operation Portaledge. In a statement they said they did not believe they were linked to the weekend fatal shootings in Spain. However there are fears that both murders have taken the Lyons-Daniel feud to a whole new level with the prospect of further violence and retribution.
