The violent decades-long drugs feud that has 'turned Scotland's streets into a war zone' with brazen public assassinations and firebombings
A violent mob war between two of Scotland's most savage crime syndicates has exploded once again onto the streets of Edinburgh, as caged drug kingpins seek to gain control of the Scottish capital from behind bars.
A firebombed beauty salon reportedly run by feared mob boss Mark Richardson's partner has seemingly become the latest battleground in the decades-long feud, which has turned Scotland's streets into a bloody 'war zone'.
Druglord Richardson is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for his role in a crime network said to be 'the most sophisticated encountered' by Scottish cops.
He is a key figure in the notorious Daniel family crime gang, that has been locked in a vicious turf war with rivals the Lyons family for more than 20 years, which has seen mobsters on both sides gunned down, executed in broad daylight and even tortured.
And it appears that even jail cannot prevent the two rivals' violent bloodshed, with prison insiders warning of running battles taking place behind bars - clashes which now appear to have spilled outside the jail.
In the latest escalation, a hooded thug was caught on camera launching a Molotov cocktail through the window of the Belle Cheveux parlour in Leith, an up-and-coming part of Edinburgh - which is reportedly run by Richardson's lover.
The figure, dressed all in black, is seen hurling a flaming missile through the glass shopfront of the beauty outlet before flames erupt inside the building - leaving locals nearby fleeing for their lives.
Footage, obtained by The Sun, then shows the henchman pointing mockingly at the burning salon, as the fire engulfs the ground floor building in Albert Street.
A beauty salon reportedly run by feared mob boss Mark Richardson's partner has seemingly become the latest battleground after it was firebombed by a hooded thug last week.
Druglord Richardson is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for his role in a crime network said to be 'the most sophisticated encountered' by Scottish cops
The attack, which took place shortly after 2.30am last Thursday, prompted the evacuation of residents living nearby - with police now probing the firebombing.
It came days after Richardson, 37, was reportedly transferred from Glenochil jail - where he had built a fearsome reputation as a man 'not to be messed with' - to HMP Low Moss in Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, amid claims of a surge in gang violence.
Sources told the Sun the move was part of a desperate attempt to keep the Daniel gang mobster away from rivals in the Lyons syndicate - a gangland feud that has been raging since at least 2001.
'There is an ongoing battle within prisons between factions linked to Richardson and others with Lyons connections,' and insider told the paper.
'Richardson is a feared guy, so whoever is behind the attack on the parlour will have to be looking over their shoulder.'
Cocaine baron Richardson was most recently jailed in 2018 for more than 10 years for his role in the Daniel gang.
The Edinburgh-based mobster was part of a nine-member group caged for a slew of crimes, which included the shooting of gangland figure, Ross Monaghan.
Police Scotland reportedly made it their top priority to arrest Richardson, after a number of tit-for-tat shootings in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Police are investigating the attack on the beauty parlour, which took place last Thursday
Residents living near it were reportedly evacuated following the 2.30am firebombing
Richardson was reportedly transferred from Glenochil prison days before the attack on the beauty parlour
Monaghan was shot from close range as he dropped a child off at St George's Roman Catholic Primary School in Penilee, Glasgow, in January 2017.
Monaghan - who survived the shooting - is believed to be part of the Lyons gang, and was found not guilty in the murder of Daniels gang member Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll.
The gangs are among Glasgow's most notorious, with several deaths attributed to a drug turf war between the two.
Richardson was sentenced in 2018 over the incident, alongside ex-army veteran turned gun-runner Martyn Fitzsimmons.
Prosecutors had originally listed 28 charges which including the shooting of mobster Monaghan.
Among the allegations included the attempted murder of crime boss Robert Kelbie and the hiding of £1.5million of 'criminal' cash.
However, following a series of pre-trial hearings amid a ring of steel and heightened security around the gang, the group entered guilty pleas to reduced charges.
Pictured is Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll, the Daniel's chief enforcer. He was shot dead in January 2010
Carroll was gunned down in front of horrified lunchtime shoppers in the car park of Asda, Robroyston, in January 2010
The car used in the murder of Kevin Carroll was later abandoned and torched on a country road
What sparked the savage gang war between two of Scotland's most feared organised crime groups?
It was a shooting that was likened to 'a scene from the Godfather' that triggered a deadly tit-for-tat turf war between two of Scotland's most blood thirsty gangs - one that has been raging for almost 20 years.
Mobsters Raymond Anderson and James McDonald, pulled up outside a garage in Lambhill, north Glassgow, on December 6, 2006.
Dressed in trench coats and facemasks, the pair stepped out of their blue Mazda, walked into the Applerow Motors and opened fired with pistols.
The garage's owner David Lyons - brother of Scottish crime boss Eddie Senior - took cover as a hail of bullets ripped through his business.
The mayhem was over in minutes but when the smoke cleared Lyons' 21-year-old nephew Michael was dead, and his cousin Steven was badly wounded - as was Robert Pickett, who had just been freed from jail for the attempted murder of fellow drug dealers, the Rennie brothers, during the Paisley drug wars.
Mobsters Raymond Anderson (left) and James McDonald (right), pulled up outside a garage in Lambhill, north Glassgow, on December 6, 2006.
The pair of henchmen responsible for the bloodshed were part of the notorious Daniel gang, which had been locked in a bitter fight with the Lyons.
In May 2008 Anderson, 49, and McDonald, 27, were convicted and each sentenced to 35 years in jail, which was later reduced on appeal.
The judge, Lord Hardie, described the murder as a 'cold-blooded, premeditated assassination'.
The shooting was the most notorious in the bloody feud between the two gangs.
The Daniels, originally from Glasgow's Milton estate, have been at war with the Lyons, from nearby Possilpark, over control of the drug trade.
It is all thought to have been sparked in 2001 when a £20,000 stash of cocaine was stolen from a safe house belonging to the Daniels before being sold to the Lyons.
The Lyons have a decades-long rivalry with the rival Daniel gang. Pictured is the Daniel family's late boss, Jamie
Steven Lyons - a senior member of the Lyons crime family - pictured outside the High Court in Glasgow
The fall-out from the missing coccaine rapidly spiralled from car chases to shootings.
Among the early victims were Kevin 'Gerbil' Carroll - the Daniel's chief enforcer and close pal of Edinburgh drug baron Mark Richardson - and Johnny Lyons, brother of David and Eddie Snr.
The pair were shot and injured in separate attacks just 11 days apart in January 2003.
Then, in November 2006, Carroll allegedly used a 4x4 and a tow rope to topple the headstone of Eddie Snr's son Garry, who was just eight when he died of leukaemia in 1991.
The desecration of his grave sparked uproar and led to an escalation in tit-for-tat violence.
Days later Carroll ambushed and shot Eddie Lyons Jnr and a friend in Bellshill, Lanarkshire.
But a week later he was wounded in a retaliatory shooting in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire.
Richardson, then aged 30, had been accused to trying to murder Monaghan and Kelbie. But he instead admitted having a Glock handgun in the city's Baillieston area.
Fitzsimmons, then 37, was allegedly involved in the Monaghan shooting but instead admitted having a Glock and ammunition.
He also admitted hiding £36,000 of crime cash.
Fellow gangster David Sell pleaded guilty to being involved in the abduction and torture of a man who was later shot in the legs.
Anthony Woods, then aged 44, Francis Mulligan, 41, and Michael Bowman, 30, each accepted roles in 'serious organised crime'.
Gerard Docherty, 42, pled guilty to recklessly discharging a firearm at a house and Steven McArdle, 33, admitted having a Glock firearm.
Barry O'Neill, 37, was the final member of the gang to enter a guilty plea, admitting being concerned in the supply of cocaine.
Pictured is Daniel gang members, ex-army veteran turned gun-runner Martyn Fitzsimmons (left) and Barry O-Neill (right)
Gerard Docherty (left), 42, pled guilty to recklessly discharging a firearm at a house. Right is fellow gang member Francis Mulligan
Steven McArdle, left, admitted to having a Glock handgun following the shooting of Ross Monaghan. Pictured right is gangster David Sell, who pleaded guilty to being involved in the abduction and torture of a man who was later shot in the legs
Richardson was caged in HMP Glenochil, near Alloa, for his role in the crime.
But he soon gained a fearsome reputation as someone not to be messed with in the jail.
In November, it was reported Richardson had joined forces with notorious killer Colin Coats to take on a 'peacekeeping' role in the jail following a series of riots.
The mob boss was a lead negotiator in a jail council that met with the lock-up's governor, reported the Daily Record.
He was assisted by Coats, one of Scotland's most notorious killers who is serving a 33-year sentence for the torture and murder of Lynda Spence, in 2013.
The pair of cons were meeting with prison chiefs after two riots ravaged the jail. It followed the frequent last-minute cancellations of events for inmates due to chronic staff shortages.
Richardson issued a string of demands to governor Sharanne Findlay and deputy John Docherty, in an effort to stop lags from kicking off further.
'Mark Richardson is the one that calls the shots at Glenochil and prison management know he has to be respected,' a prison insider told the Daily Record.
'Although he is the one man in the jail who is not to be crossed, he also carries clout as a negotiator. He has become pals with Colin Coats, who is an ultra-violent brute but also well educated and articulate.
'The same swagger that made Richardson a crime boss lends itself well to leadership roles inside the jail, which means he was nominated to be part of the prisoner council that liaises with jail governors.'
Robert Daniel nephew of Jamie Daniel, was gunned down outside his home in Honeywell Court, Stepps, in 2017, as part of the rivalry between the Daniel and Lyon gangs
Richardson was transferred from jail following the negotiations. Days later the firebombing attack took place at his partner's beauty salon.
A Police Scotland spokesman said: 'We were called at around 2.30am on March 6 to a fire at a premises on Albert Street, Edinburgh.
'It was put out by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
'No one was injured but adjacent properties were evacuated as a precaution.
'The fire is being treated as wilful.'
The Scottish Prison Service said: 'We don't comment on individuals.'
In 2010, Richardson was jailed for 10 years after police broke down his £5million drug trafficking regime.
He was previously convicted for cocaine trafficking with his father, Mark, in 2007.
