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Scotland's Deadliest Gang War Ends?
1 Aug
Summary
- A 25-year feud between Glasgow's Lyons and Daniels families has seen 84 violent incidents.
- EncroChat hack led to arrests worldwide, impacting UK crime figures significantly.
- Police note a lull in violence, possibly due to internal resolutions or police pressure.
The violent 25-year feud between Glasgow's Lyons and Daniels families, two of Scotland's most powerful organized crime groups, may be nearing an end. This bloody conflict, often compared to a gangster movie, has involved numerous attacks, firebombings, and murders, including a double murder in Fuengirola, Spain, in June 2025. Police Scotland reported a significant downturn in gangland violence, attributing it to factors including "resolution of differences within the serious and organised crime community." This lull follows a period of intense activity with 84 recorded incidents leading to 64 arrests and the recovery of firearms.
A major turning point in tackling organized crime in Scotland was the infiltration of the encrypted communications service EncroChat in March-June 2020. This breach, involving 13 European countries, allowed law enforcement to monitor high-level crime bosses in real-time, leading to thousands of arrests globally, including over 3,000 in the UK. Evidence from EncroChat was instrumental in recent arrests, including that of Steven Lyons, a key figure in the Lyons family, and the assassination of his brother in Spain.
The feud's origins trace back 25 years to a drug stash theft, escalating through brutal acts of violence and revenge, including the desecration of a child's grave and daylight executions. Figures like Jamie Daniel and his enforcer Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll were central to the conflict. The rise of younger, social media-savvy gangsters, such as Steven "Bonzo" Daniel and associates like Ross "Miami" McGill, has also marked a shift in organized crime's public image and operations.
While the overt violence has decreased, with gangs reportedly shifting focus to drug importation, the underlying criminal enterprise remains lucrative. The recent arrest of Steven Lyons and the international reach of his family's business, including links to the Kinahan cartel, are seen as a "decapitation" of the gang's leadership. This, combined with ongoing police pressure and intelligence from operations like EncroChat, suggests a new, less visible normal for organized crime in Scotland.
