Cops smash 10 crime gangs

Published on Tuesday 5 April 2011 14:31

DETECTIVES have smashed ten organised crime gangs operating across Edinburgh and the Lothians, it was revealed today.

Eight gang leaders are now serving jail sentences as a result of successful operations by the Serious and Organised Crime Unit (SOCU), which has also recovered 3 million of Class A drugs and identified 6.5m of criminal assets to be seized.

However, despite the success, there were warnings today that four new gangs have sprung up or moved their activities into the Lothians in the last year.

The figures were released as police chiefs pledged to continue their crackdown and insisted criminals were finding it more difficult than ever to operate in the Lothians.

Detective Chief Superintendent Malcolm Graham, head of the force's CID division, said: "We have ten crime groups who no longer operate in the force area. They have been disrupted to the point where they have been effectively dismantled.

"Four new groups have been identified during the same period, but these groups do not necessarily have to come from the force area. We're targeting those which the public most need protected against."

A "handful" of weapons, including firearms and crossbows, have been recovered from gangsters, and SOCU believes that a "small number" of gang members remain willing to use guns to enforce their operations.

Shootings involving rival gangs have been showing a "downward trend" in recent months following the jailing of a number of criminals known to use firearms.

Meanwhile, experts from SOCU have identified a number of new "quasi-legitimate" businesses being utilised by gangs to try to launder their profits, including car washes and garages which both sell cars and offer repairs.

Others with ties to the gangs have set themselves up as financial advisors to carry out money-laundering activities.

Since it was established in 2009, SOCU has conducted "mapping" exercises to identify criminal gangs and develop intelligence about them.

The latest mapping work, completed in February, showed that 23 gangs were currently active, down from 29 last April.

Of around 600 people involved in serious organised crime in the force area, 86 individuals, or 14 per cent of the total, are in prison from 17 of the groups. Eight of that number are considered gang leaders while ten were "significant" members and another 68 were "nominal" members.

An analysis of the "threat level" posed by gangs in the Lothians found that their ability to bring in significant amounts of Class A drugs remained "very high", as did their "intent and capability" to use violence.

Det Chief Supt Graham said: "We now have a better understanding of how these organised crime groups operate and we're having a real impact on their activities.

"In recent years, we have seen a swing towards being involved in cocaine. Now we are seeing more of a mix between cocaine and other drugs.

"It shows there is still a market for a range of drugs and crime groups are seeking to exploit that."

He added: "Firearms incidents remain extremely rare in Lothian and Borders. The trend for shootings has been a downward one in recent times, and that is very positive. There are still a small number of people who are willing to hold and use firearms. We will put considerable effort into targeting these individuals."

The unit is also working with the council to ensure that contracts paid with public money are not awarded to firms which are "front" operations for drug-dealing and money-laundering.Meanwhile, forensic accountants are working to hunt down money laundering operations, with criminals running "legitimate" businesses targeted as part of the approach.

Det Chief Supt Graham added: "These criminals are looking to businesses which are cash rich and don't involve the identity of the person buying a service to be collected.

"The motor trade is attractive for this purpose. We've also seen car washes, which can easily be set up on a temporary basis, being used in the same way.

"Tanning salons, nail bars and taxi firms remain favoured ways to launder money. We're also seeing individuals setting themselves up in financial services, using that position and the opportunities it provides to service organised crime groups."

SPECIALIST SQUAD TO CRACK MAJOR CASES

A NEW squad of specialist detectives is being created to investigate all murders and other high-profile inquiries in the Lothians.

The Major Investigations Team (MIT) will replace the current set-up where the cost of large-scale inquiries is covered autonomously by separate divisions.

Police chiefs hope the MIT, which will have a dedicated staff of 90 people, will produce efficiency savings of 2.6 million.

The force hopes to staff the team with more specialists in different fields, including from developing areas such as computer forensics.

Chief Constable David Strang said: "The creation of the central MIT will lead to a reduction in the number of detectives being abstracted from territorial divisions."

Snaring two of the city's biggest drug gangsters

THE leaders of two of Edinburgh's biggest drug gangs were among those jailed during the last year after being targeted by police.

Mark Richardson was caught red-handed by officers as he prepared to flood the city with highly-addictive crack cocaine.

The 23-year-old leader of an Inch-based gang was processing three-and-a-half kilos of the Class A drug worth 700,000 in a kitchen when police raided a flat in Ferniehill Road.

Police chiefs had made Richardson, who has been linked with several gangland shootings, a key target in their fight against city drugs gangs.

His gang was placed under a massive police surveillance operation lasting 18 months, which brought 66 arrests and seizures of heroin, cocaine and crack worth 2 million.

Richardson was jailed for ten years in August, but his sentence was cut to six years and nine months by appeal court judges in January.

Richardson's friend and fellow gang leader, James Carlin, left, was jailed for nine years in October after being brought down by an undercover police operation.

Carlin splashed out thousands of pounds on a gambling trip to Las Vegas and boasted of partying in Ibiza with supermodel Kate Moss while heading a city drug gang that peddled cocaine.

The 24-year-old was jailed following a trial that heard how he spent his profits lavishly on holidays, designer goods and Rolex watches.

Undercover officers infiltrated the crime group by hanging around their "gang hut", the Jock's Lodge pub, even treating Carlin to a meal in a private box at Murrayfield Stadium during an exhibition match between Hibs and Barcelona.

Carlin himself was shot in the leg, pistol-whipped and stabbed during an attack at the Jock's Lodge in March last year as he awaited trial.