Disturbance outside Dunbartonshire car garage probed by 'gang war task force'

A disturbance outside a garage in Kirkintilloch is being investigated by the task force looking into the central belt gang war.

Emergency services were called to Kelvinside Motor Company on Milton Road at around 3.15pm on Tuesday.

The nature of the disturbance is unknown. Detectives are keeping an open mind on whether it should be probed by Operation Portaledge, an investigation launched in the wake of a major criminal feud.

Enquiries into the incident remain at an early stage.

Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a disturbance at a garage on Milton Road in Kirkintilloch around 3.15pm on Tuesday, August 18, 2026.

“Enquiries to establish the full circumstances are at an early stage.”

‘Resolution of differences‘

Chief constable of Police Scotland, Jo Farrell, told the Scottish Police Authority in July that the “deeply concerning ‘war’ between rivals” came to an end after six months.

She stated that the tit-for-tat attacks, which began in March 2025, were over after the “resolution of differences” between the parties involved.

During the last year, there were a slew of firebombings, assaults, home invasions and a bounty placed on the head of a jailed drug kingpin.

A home was shot at on Pitcairn Grove in Edinburgh STV News

Operation Portaledge, which was launched to crack down on gang activity, responded to 84 separate incidents and resulted in 64 arrests.

Earlier this year, there was a resurgence in activity with one home on Balderston Gardens North in the capital targeted twice within 24 hours.

At the same time period, a skip lorry was deliberately driven into a living room on Brand Drive.

A skip lorry was driven into a home earlier this year STV News

A group called Tamo Junto (TMJ) claimed credit for the incident.

According to the report submitted to the SPA, Operation Portaledge responded to ten further incidents, with five individuals arrested.

The incident on Tuesday in Kirkintilloch is the latest to be linked to the feud, suggesting that those involved believe the war is still ongoing across the central belt.

Gang war key figures

The Scottish feud has resulted in arrests across the world and has been linked to an alleged double assassination in the Costa Del Sol.

In September last year, four Scottish men, Steven Lyons, Ross McGill, Stephen Jamieson and Steven Larwood were allegedly taken into custody by Dubai police.

McGill, Larwood and Lyons were released. Jamieson was returned to Scotland after fleeing to the UAE in 2020.

Scottish gang boss Steven Lyons was arrested in Indonesia STV News

The 43-year-old was involved in serious and organised crime through the sale and supply of etizolam, cocaine, and heroin between March and May 2020.

His involvement was identified during the ongoing examination of data recovered from EncroChat infiltration.

Jamieson was jailed for six years and issued a four-year Serious Crime Prevention Order upon his release.

Lyons, a high-ranking member of the Glasgow-based Lyons crime group, was later arrested after arriving in Bali following a major operation led by the Spanish Guardia Civil.

He has since been extradited to the country via Amsterdam and is linked with a number of charges related to organised crime, including his alleged involvement in a 2024 murder.

In May 2025, his brother, Eddie Lyons Jnr, was gunned down at Monaghans Irish Bar in Fuengirola, Spain.

Associate Ross Monaghan, who owned the premises, was also killed in the shooting. Police Scotland believes the incident is not related to the central belt feud, but Spanish detectives say it is linked to the Daniels family, a group understood to be involved with the war.

Eddie Lyons Junior and Ross Monaghan.
STV News

Merseyside man Michael Riley, 44, was charged in connection was charged in connection with the killings and extradited to Spain.

Larwood travelled to Indonesia alongside Lyons; however, he evaded capture and is now on the run alongside fellow Scot Lewis Wark.

McGill, understood to be the former leader of the Rangers ultra group, the Union Bears, is believed to be a high-ranking member of the TMJ.

The group previously issued a bounty on the head of the jailed Edinburgh cocaine kingpin Mark Richardson, who is believed to have been embroiled in the criminal feud.

McGill’s whereabouts is unknown.