Latest news with #OperationPortaledge
Scotsman
5 hours ago
- Scotsman
Summer City team ready to welcome visitors from across the globe
Street performers on the Royal Mile at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Picture:) Having been in post since December 2024, leading the Police Scotland Partnership portfolio in Edinburgh, I have enjoyed working with internal and external stakeholders to deliver an effective policing service in the city. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... There have been several challenges during this time, and I have been heartened by the collective response to continue to keep our communities safe across Edinburgh. I lead a fantastic team of officers and staff who work relentlessly to deliver an effective policing service. We have seen an unfortunate rise in gang related violence across Scotland, and within the city. The Police Scotland response, Operation Portaledge, was instigated to protect communities and bring those responsible to justice. We have executed more than 50 arrests as a result of the operation. Our teams have delivered a community reassurance plan, with additional targeted and intelligence led patrols. We have had support from specialist departments across the country, offering public reassurance. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There has been a well-publicised rise in retail crime across the UK. As the strategic lead for retail crime prevention and investigation in Edinburgh, my teams have worked closely with retailers to deliver initiatives to prevent and detect retail crime. Since the establishment of a new retail crime initiative, we have seen 44 people arrested for numerous offences. We have also implemented 'Shopwatch' in the city centre, with our partners Essential Edinburgh. This is a radio system, which allows retailers to share information and intelligence, and also communicate directly with Police Officers and CCTV operatives. This initiative has led to retailers feeling safer in their workplace, increasing confidence in policing. We will continue to work innovatively, to improve conditions in retail premises across the city. As a police service, we have a legislative requirement to ensure the care and welfare of people, places and communities. This includes our response to supporting people in the community experiencing mental health incidents or trauma. In Edinburgh, we are working constructively and creatively with health and ambulance service colleagues to improve our processes and ensure members of our communities receive the right care from the right people at the right time. Officers dedicate significant hours to supporting people in distress, and we want to ensure the processes in place, support the person as well as our hard-working officers. Following a significant amount of planning, we are ready to welcome the Edinburgh International Festival, Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and associated events to the city. I will lead the Operation Summer City team, supporting the safe delivery of the events and supporting our visitors. As ever, our officers are looking forward to engaging with people from across the globe, welcoming them to enjoy all that the city has to offer. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad We have enjoyed a very positive start to 2025, with continued engagement with our partners and communities. Our officers continue to deal with challenging and dynamic incidents in the city and do so each day with outstanding professionalism. It is vital to maintain and develop new relationships, to contribute to ensuring Edinburgh remains a safe place to live, work, and visit. Please follow us on Facebook and X where you can keep up to date with what the policing team are doing across Edinburgh during the spring and summer months.
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Daily Record
Scotland's gang war 'halted as Mr Big running out of footsoldiers and lying low'
Ross McGill, who has been waging war on associates of Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson and the notorious Glasgow-based Daniel clan, is believed to be 'lying low'. A gang war which has resulted in a number of shootings and firebombings across the central belt has shuddered to a halt after the crime lord behind the attacks began to 'run out of footsoldiers', according to underworld sources. Ross McGill, who has been waging war on associates of Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson and the notorious Glasgow-based Daniel clan, is believed to be 'lying low'. A number of businesses, properties and cars linked to Richardson and the Daniel family have been torched during an barrage of terrifying attacks spreading across the east and west of the country since March. Those associated with Richardson have repeatedly been targeted, with vehicles torched and several homes allegedly shot at by masked gunmen. A group called Tamo Junto (TMJ) have continued to taunt their rivals by releasing videos of the attacks and threatening further violence as Dubai-based McGill seeks revenge for an underworld heist. It is claimed an associate of Richardson paid for a stash of drugs with fake notes after building a relationship with the crime lord. McGill, in retaliation, supposedly used his criminal contacts to wage war on those involved in the deal. Due to police cracking down on those involved in the gangland feud, however, it has been suggested McGill is now "lying low" after officers investigating the series of violent incidents made a total of 55 arrests. A source told Edinburgh Live McGill has been left with fewer footsoldiers to do his bidding as several weeks have passed since the last gang-related incident in the capital. They told our sister title: "Word is McGill is lying low and has taken a backseat. The Eddie Lyons Jnr and Ross Monaghan shootings in Spain was mental as well so things have calmed down a little after that. "From the beginning there have been more and more characters getting involved and competing to see who was the bravest basically. It has all just become so messy." It was reported earlier this month McGill was confronted by another gangster at a gym in Dubai over the heat he has brought. Stephen 'Jimmy' Jamieson is understood to have confronted McGill during the bust-up. The most recent arrest linked to the gang war, named Operation Portaledge by police, came on Friday, July 18, when a man was arrested and charged in connection with wilful fireraising and firearms offences. Jordan Steele, 38, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, July 21, in connection with the alleged firebombing of the Belle Cheveux salon in Leith on March 6. 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'. He was charged with firearms offences, including possessing a firearm without authorisation. Steele made no plea and was granted bail. A 26-year-old male was also arrested in connection with alleged damage at a property on Walter Scott Avenue in Edinburgh on Thursday, 12 June, and an alleged wilful fire-raising at a property on Jackson Way in Tranent on Friday, 13 June. In addition, another 26-year-old man was also charged in connection with two alleged vehicle fires in Port Seton on Sunday, May 18 - he will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
Scottish Sun
6 days ago
- Scottish Sun
Notorious Daniel clan hood Francis ‘Fraggle' Green fights back armed thugs after ambush at gated home
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DANIEL clan hood Francis 'Fraggle' Green was forced to fight off attackers who targeted him at his gated house amid Scotland's raging gang wars, it's emerged. The hardman rammed his car into another motor after maniacs targeted his home in Kirkintilloch. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Francis 'Fraggle' Green fought off armed attackers during the blitz on his home Credit: The Sun Glasgow 5 He is the son of the late crime boss Jamie Daniel (pictured) 5 Dubai-based hood Ross 'Miami' McGill Credit: Collect 5 Investigative journalist Livvy Haydock Credit: BBC And we can reveal Fraggle - son of late crime kingpin Jamie Daniel - is now said to be wearing a bulletproof vest over fears of further violence. Details of the motor attack emerged in the latest episode of a true crime doc charting the history of the long-running feud between Glasgow's notorious Lyons and Daniel gangs. Speaking exclusively to The Scottish Sun, investigative journo Livvy Haydock said: 'One source told us of yet another attack involving Jamie Daniel's son, Francis 'Fraggle' Green, in which a masked and armed man appeared in a van outside his gates. 'And then when the gate opens, Francis actually rams them so hard that they end up abandoning their vehicle. "So it feels like there's a lot going on.' And an insider said: 'Fraggle is no easy touch. "He'll always fight back. "But he's understandably on edge. "It's claimed he's now wearing a bulletproof vest.' The heightened tensions come amid a raging turf war that began in March when Dubai-based hood Ross 'Miami' McGill began targeting associates of caged Edinburgh kingpin Mark Richardson, 38. Jamie 'Iceman' Stevenson's right-hand man CAPTURED in Dubai after 5 Years on the run The carnage then spread from the capital to Glasgow where members of the notorious Daniel crew came under fire amid the worst escalation of gangland violence in years. So far Police Scotland has made 55 arrests under Operation Portaledge - a crackdown on the ongoing violence that's included firebombings and machete murder bids. Fears of worse to come had been brewing and then on Saturday, May 31, Lyons gang kingpins Ross Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons, Jnr, 46, were shot dead in Spain, Fuengirola. Meanwhile, moves are afoot to bring one of Scotland's most wanted hoods - Stephen 'Jimmy' Jamieson - back from Dubai where he's been hiding out for years in a bid to dodge justice. A bonus episode of Gangster: The Story of the Daniels and the Lyons will be available to hear on BBC Sounds from tomorrow.
Daily Record
22-07-2025
- Daily Record
Man appears in court over gangland salon fire after locals flee from torched building
Jordan Steele, 38, appeared in court charged with firearm offences after a beauty salon was torched in the gangland war. A man has appeared in court after a beauty salon was torched in a gangland f eud causing locals to have to flee their homes. Belle Cheveux, on Albert Street in Leith, burst into flames during the early hours of Thursday, March 6. It was one of the first targets in the gangland war that has been raging across Scotland in recent months. Jordan Steele, 38, of Edinburgh, appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, July 21, in connection with the incident. He was charged with firearms offences, including possessing a firearm without authorisation. Steele made no plea and was granted bail. His next appearance has not yet been confirmed. Another man has previously appeared in court also in connection with the incident in June. Owen Logan, 26, was arrested in a police raid as part of Police Scotland's Operation Portaledge investigation. Logan made no plea to a single charge of wilful fire-raising and was remanded in custody. A number of incidents have since taken place in Glasgow, Edinburgh and surrounding areas in recent months, with private homes and business premises targeted. Dubai based Mr Big, Ross McGill, has been waging war on Mark Richardson's mob and the Daniel clan since March after he was ripped off in a £500,000 cocaine deal when the buyer used fake bank notes. In the most serious of incidents, there was an attempted murder of one of Richardson's top associates. David McMillan, 54, was allegedly attacked with machetes outside his house on Pitcairn Grove in Edinburgh on Thursday, May 22. Three more arrests were made by cops probing a gangland war over the weekend, bringing the total number of Operation Portaledge arrests to 55. 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'. As well as Steele, a 26-year-man was charged in connection with damage at a property on Walter Scott Avenue in Edinburgh on Thursday, June 12, and a wilful fire-raising at a property on Jackson Way in Tranent on Friday, June 13. He will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Another 26-year-old man was charged in connection with two vehicle fires in Port Seton, which occurred on Sunday, May 18. He will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
Edinburgh Reporter
19-07-2025
- Edinburgh Reporter
More arrests by detectives investigating gangland feud
Detectives investigating the ongoing gangland feud known as Operation Portaledge have arrested a 38-year-old man, bringing the total number of arrests to 55. On Friday, 18 July, 2025, officers arrested and charged the man in connection with wilful fire-raising and firearms offences. He is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Monday, 21 July. In addition a 26-year-old man has been charged in connection with damage at a property on Walter Scott Avenue in Edinburgh on Thursday, 12 June, and a wilful fire-raising at a property on Jackson Way in Tranent on Friday, 13 June. He will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Another 26-year-old man was also charged in connection with two vehicle fires in Port Seton, which occurred on Sunday, 18 May. He will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Like this: Like Related
