Chief Superintendent David Robertson has provided an update on Operation Portaledge – launched in response to the gangland feud which erupted five months ago.
Scottish gang wars have seen a series of shootings and firebombings across the country(Image: YouTube)
Edinburgh’s police chief has issued an update on the ongoing gang war raging across Scotland.
Police Scotland has been combating a gang war which erupted in March on the streets of Edinburgh when Ross McGill’s Tamo Junto (TMJ) gang went after mob boss Mark Richardson and his associates after a cocaine deal was paid for using fake bank notes.
Since then, properties and businesses across the city have been torched and attacked before spreading to Glasgow in April when the Daniel crime clan was targeted due to their links to Richardson.
Operation Portaledge was launched by Police Scotland in response. Chief Superintendent David Robertson addressed Edinburgh Councillors on Thursday and said that as part of the operation, almost 14,000 addresses and 1,800 vehicles had been checked as well as officers engaging in a number of property searches.
He also said the “organised crime feud” was having a significant impact on local communities, reports Edinburgh Live.
Ross McGill at Rangers match(Image: Getty Images)
He also addressed recently-released crime statistics which showed an increase in crime across the city, with fire-raising, sexual assaults and drug crime all on the up.
He said: “Many of you will be aware of the ongoing organised crime feud that has significantly impacted many communities across the city.
“Whilst recent incidents have reduced slightly, the feud continues, requiring significant resources to be deployed.
“I said the full weight of Police Scotland would be brought to bear on those who thought it was acceptable to engage in this level of violence on our city’s streets.
“We have done that. Our disruptive and preventative plan saw almost 14,000 addresses checked, a number of property searches, and 1,800 vehicles checked.
“There have been 46 incidents within Edinburgh, and we’ve arrested 29 individuals, some of whom have been involved in multiple incidents.
“And we had some more arrests earlier this week, bringing the total number of arrests in relation to Operation Portaledge to 55.”
Mark Richardson(Image: Police Scotland)
Earlier today, we reported that Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors addressed the Scottish Police Authority during a meeting at the Clayton Hotel in Glasgow in which she said that the brutal gang war is not expected to ‘abate’.
It was also revealed that organised crime squads and intelligence teams are being stretched under “continued pressure” by the gangland chaos, as well as other operations such as responses to protests held over immigration and the conflict in Gaza.
Elsewhere in Chief Supt Robertson’s address to Edinburgh councillors, he also spoke about the police’s action on Bonfire Night-related disorder late last year, saying that 40 arrests had been made, nine houses searched and two vehicles seized.
Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors(Image: Scottish Police Authority)
Some 20 people were referred to the children’s reporter due to their age, while one man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for mobbing and rioting.
He said police were pursuing another man who failed to show up to a riot-related court date, and that one man had been given a year-long 7pm curfew for his involvement.
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