City Irish drugs gang is smashed

A senior police source said detectives had arrested top members of the gang over the last two weeks and said the other members had "gone quiet".

The Evening News exclusively revealed more than two weeks ago that the Loyalist gang had arrived in the Capital to take over the lucrative drugs trade.

The police source said: "We have five or six of the main players from that gang in custody and the others have been relatively quiet since then."

The source also revealed the gang, which comes from Belfast, had brought over two major players from the underworld scene as part of their bid to control Edinburgh.

The source added: "Two known players with heavy connections in Ireland came over here in the last month or so as enforcers for the gang."

It is thought they have now left the Capital and returned to Ireland.

One underworld source revealed that several "big name" players have been brought in to sort out the thugs who are believed to be outcast Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) hoods.

The 30-strong gang has been terrorising locals in the Wester Hailes, Broomhouse and Calders area since beginning to make their presence known in April this year.

The mob daubed graffiti on walls and tagged the districts as "Loyalist controlled zones" although police have denied the gang had direct paramilitary connections. Twelve people have been arrested and charged by police in the last month in connection with several incidents and the charges have included abduction, firearms, assaults, violence and intimidation.

The gang members are from the east side of Belfast and are involved in extortion, guns, racketeering and drugs. They are also believed to operate protection rackets and have been trying to muscle in on local businesses.

Locals have become so worried about the escalating gang warfare that police have stepped up patrols in the area in a bid to reassure locals and prevent crime taking place.

The Irish gang first made its presence felt in the Calders in April, when loyalist graffiti was daubed around the area. A sign was painted on the side of the Cobbinshaw House block of flats saying: "Welcome to Loyalist Little Calder".

Six people, including one woman, have already appeared in court after the attempted abduction of young man in Broomhouse on Thursday July 11.

It was said that the abduction attempt was the second within three weeks.

Officers quickly found the man at a house in Wester Hailes and arrested three people after a search uncovered drugs and firearms.

Shortly after they raided the house in Wester Hailes, detectives swooped on a car and arrested another three people in the car park at the Hilton Hotel near to Edinburgh Airport.

A special inquiry team has been set up by Lothian and Borders police to deal with the threat of the gang who have been using violence and intimidation to gain control of drug and extortion rackets.

A public meeting held in the area was attended by large numbers of locals worried about the threat the gang posed on their community.