Two charged over gang feud taking arrest total to 57

A further two people have been arrested and charged in connection with a gangland feud, bringing the total number of arrests to 57.

A 25-year-old man and a 26-year-old man were arrested in connection with multiple offences in Edinburgh on Monday.

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 on Tuesday.

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 there have 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.