Speculation that ‘most wanted’ brothers could be dead

Two Rutherglen brothers accused of running a huge organised crime empire may have been killed in South America.

James and Barry Gillespie were believed to have gone on the run to Brazil, where sources say the siblings had a fall-out with gangsters over protection money.

The Reformer’s sister paper the Daily Record has now reported that detectives hunting the duo have informed relatives of the brothers that they “may have come to harm” in Fortaleza.

James, 48, and Barry, 44, have been linked with a drugs and ammunition racket.

Insiders say the pair asked gang leaders to help them stay one step ahead of the authorities after police issued a public appeal for information about their whereabouts.

However, it has been claimed that the relationship went sour when local crime chiefs started demanding even more money.

We previously told how local police in Brazil had dubbed the duo “the Pablo Escobar brothers”.

A source said: “They turned to a group for help and ended up being extorted. They were paying through the nose for protection. The guys wanted too much money.

“People have been told that one of the brothers was held hostage while the other was told to get money.

“No one has heard anything from either of them for months, not even their closest friends and family. They used to keep in touch with a few of their trusted pals who did some running about for them.

“Everyone thinks they’re dead.”

Police Scotland confirmed they have told Gillespie family members that detectives have obtained intelligence about the brothers’ safety. However, they have still to trace the pair and continue to ask the public for help.

A spokesman said: “Police Scotland officers have been in contact with the families of James and Barry Gillespie after enquiries have led them to believe that both men may have come to harm.

“However, extensive enquiries to trace both men are continuing and anyone with information about their current whereabouts should contact Police Scotland.”

The Gillespies top Scotland’s most wanted list, with the Crimestoppers website saying that both men are wanted for“directing serious and organised crime throughout the UK and Europe”.

They are connected with weapons smuggling, drug trafficking and money laundering.

The pair – nicknamed “The Brothers” in Scotland’s underworld – are claimed to have links to a gang that was jailed for a total of 87 years in 2018. The ninestrong mob was locked up over drugs, firearms, violence and dirty money.

They were also linked to a horrific assault in East Kilbride in 2015.

A victim was assaulted after he could not pay a £30,000 drug debt.

He was whipped with a thick chain, hit with a metal bar and battered with a 14lb sledgehammer. He was then ordered to strip and sprayed with bleach.

And he was shot in both knees and dumped at a roundabout in East Kilbride.

He was given a new identity and placed on a witness protection programme after agreeing to give evidence against his attackers.

European Arrest Warrants were issued for the Gillespies’ arrests in 2019.

In 2009, the pair, who say they are property developers, were linked to the biggest cocaine haul ever seized by police in France.

Customs officers discovered a consignment of the Class A drug worth £31million in the back of a truck registered to a Scottish haulage firm.

They found the stash hidden in a lorry in Montpellier. The vehicle also contained cash registers and coffee.

Police previously told how the siblings would use aliases to avoid being tracked.

James has used the name Stephen Taylor and Barry has pretended to be Eamon Fitzpatrick.

The brothers spent time living in Portugal’s Algarve and Dubai before moving to Brazil.