Victim David McMillan was attacked three times as Scotland’s sprawling gangland war intensifies

A sprawling Scottish gangland feud has seen total arrests soar to 48, with Police Scotland confirming a fresh batch of four suspects taken into custody over recent violent attacks.

Among those charged is a 20-year-old and a 26-year-old, both accused of attempting to murder 54-year-old Edinburgh businessman David McMillan outside his Pitcairn Grove home last month. McMillan has now survived three targeted attacks since April, as part of what police believe is a coordinated campaign of violence stretching across several cities.

Another 26-year-old man was arrested in connection with a deliberate arson on Albert Drive in Edinburgh and also faces charges relating to existing warrants. A fourth suspect, aged 51, has been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice following a fire in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, on 23 May.

Forensic teams have been scouring crime scenes in recent weeks, and police revealed they have now recovered a vehicle and a firearm believed to have been used in some of the attacks.

Mr McMillan was left seriously injured after a brutal assault by four or five masked men on 22 May. His targeting began on 17 April, the sixth anniversary of the murder of his close friend and T2 Trainspotting actor Bradley Welsh. That night, the front door of McMillan’s Edinburgh home was set ablaze. Weeks later, two cars outside his property were torched.

Detectives have not confirmed the motive behind the feud but believe McMillan has been a focal point in a tit-for-tat cycle of violence that began in early March.

Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Ferry said the force remains “fully committed” to dismantling the organised crime networks behind the string of attacks. “We are pursuing a number of positive lines of inquiry,” he said. “But we still need the continued support and trust of local communities.”

The gang war appears to be spreading beyond the capital. Fires, shootings and assaults have struck Glasgow, East Kilbride, Kirkintilloch, Bellshill, and other areas across central Scotland.

Police outlined the timeline of attacks:

• On 2 March, the feud began with a car fire in Edinburgh’s Parrotshot area.
  
• Later, a Leith beauty salon and a Portobello garage were targeted. Gunshots were reported at homes in Niddrie and Pilton.
  
• In early April, a Niddrie house was firebombed.
  
• A carpet business in Bishopbriggs, a commercial unit in Kirkintilloch, and homes in Glasgow and Stepps followed.
  
• By mid-April, the violence escalated: a 72-year-old woman and a 12-year-old boy were assaulted in Milton, Glasgow.
  
• Properties in Bishopbriggs were again set alight, while two men were seriously injured in an East Kilbride garage on 19 May.
  
• Just days later, McMillan was ambushed and beaten outside his Edinburgh home.
  

The 51-year-old suspect connected to the Bellshill fire is due to appear in Hamilton Sheriff Court at a later date.

Despite the growing list of arrests and seizures, police warn the feud is far from over. “Organised crime doesn’t vanish overnight,” DCS Ferry noted. “But we’re making progress, and we won’t stop until these networks are disrupted completely.”

Communities affected by the feud remain on edge, as investigators push forward in what is quickly becoming one of Scotland’s most wide-reaching criminal crackdowns in recent memory.