Four men firebombed and targeted cocaine kingpin's property

Two men who plotted to damage assets belonging to a gangland boss also carried out fire bombings during a feud involving rival gangs.

Kieran Abercrombie, 32, and Robert Thomson, 18, conspired with others to “identify and damage properties and motor vehicles associated with Mark Richardson” in May 2025.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how the pair carried out the conspiracy to sabotage Richardson’s possessions by using messaging apps WhatsApp and Signal.

Earlier in the same month – on May 8, 2025 – Abercrombie, Thomson and a third man – Kenzie Gardner, 19 – set fire to a building housing Glasgow taxi firm Deuce Private Hire.

On May 8, 2025 , Kieran Abercrombie, 32, Robert Thomson, 18, and Kenzie Gardner, 19, set fire to a building housing Glasgow taxi firm Deuce Private Hire. Crown Office

On the same day, the trio joined forces with a fourth man called Tyler Ramage, 19, to set fire to a Land Rover and an Audi which was parked outside a house in Edinburgh’s Morningside suburb.

The conspiracy happened during a conflict involving the Daniel, the Lyons and the Richardson crime gangs who operate in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

However, their role in the war was foiled after Police Scotland launched Operation Portaledge – a law enforcement initiative designed to bring gangsters to justice.

On Thursday, the four men appeared in court before judge Lord Mulholland who told them they faced lengthy prison sentences.

“This is a very, very serious matter,” he said.

“You set fire to premises where there were two people working.

“It is nothing more than sheer naked gangsterism.

“You will all receive lengthy periods of custody and detention when the case next calls.”

Criminal feud crackdown

Police Scotland’s Operation Portaledge was launched to crack down on serious organised crime after a gang feud spanning the central belt ignited in March 2025.

Homes have been shot at, businesses torched, properties invaded, and machete attacks have taken place over the last year amid escalating violence between the feuding organisations.

In September four Scots, Steven Lyons, Ross McGill, Stephen Jamieson and Steven Larwood, were allegedly taken into custody by Dubai police as part of the large-scale investigation.

Jamieson was extradited to Scotland where he faces a total of six charges, including directing someone to commit a serious offence.

Threats were issued to drug lord Mark Richardson who is currently behind bars. Police Scotland

Jailed cocaine kingpin Mark Richardson has also been linked to the was, with a group named TMJ issuing a bounty, offering a reward for a violent attack on the Scottish drug lord.

Following a lull in activity, the feud is believed to have reignited this month after two incidents where cars were rammed into Glasgow homes and fled the scene.

Officers are keeping an “open mind” into whether the incidents are linked to the underworld war.

The special task force has arrested a total of 63 people in connection with the organised crime war.

Key figures ‘shot and killed’ amid rising tension

As criminal tensions rose in Scotland, two key figures were gunned down at an Irish pub in Spain.

Eddie Lyons Junior and Ross Monaghan were gunned down at Monaghans Irish Bar in Fuengirola, south of Malaga, by a masked assailant who fled shortly after on May 31, 2025.

The pair are understood to have been high ranking names in the Glasgow-based Lyons gang, which has been locked in a bitter feud with the Daniels organised crime group for over two decades.

The fatal attack occurred after a car pulled up outside and a masked man got out and opened fire on the men.

Michael Riley was arrested in Liverpool under an international warrant issued by the Spanish authorities.

The 44-year-old has consented to his extradition to Spain, and no more hearings are due to take place in the UK.

Spanish police claim that Riley initially fled to Portugal before flying to the UK and that the alleged gunman shaved off his beard to change his appearance.

Eddie Lyons Junior and Ross Monaghan. STV News

Spanish police believe he then hid at several addresses in Britain before his arrest, which they say came as he was about to escape to an island tax haven.

They added that the charges are two murders, membership of a criminal organisation and illegal possession of weapons.

Police Scotland previously said the targeted attack did not appear to be linked with a series of criminal acts by rival groups in Scotland, and that any speculation was “not helpful” to their investigation.

But at a press conference in Spain, police chief Pedro Agudo Novo said a Daniels clan member was involved in the assassinations.

He described Riley as “an internal member” of the Glasgow-based crime family

It is understood that Scottish detectives did not believe Riley had links to the criminal gang.