CRIME CLAMPDOWN
ANTI-GANG OPERATION MOVES UP A GEAR AS OFFICERS HIT RIVAL CROOKS’ VEHICLES 28 cars in clan feud area are targeted by police because of unpaid tax or no insurance
Cars belonging to members of the Lyons and Daniel families have been seized in a new offensive against organised crime.
Police have targeted 28 vehicles they believe are linked to the rival gangs under Operation Engagement.
In the last year, 30 major gangland figures have been arrested, 50 stolen cars found, about 300 mobile phones seized and almost 100 threat-to-life warnings issued thanks to the multi-million-pound initiative.
Now off icers have started to immobilise vehicles that they believe are owned by Lyons and Daniel crime clan members.
Working with the DVLA, they have been clamping and confiscating cars that aren’t taxed, are uninsured or have finance arrears in the north of Glasgow since the start of the month.
The area has been the scene of violent attacks. Victims include Daniel crew member William “Wills” Barclay, who was shot and stabbed in Springburn on March 8.
At the start of the latest crackdown, police targeted gang members in Milton. They repossessed a Skoda Octavia taxi and two Audis – and also found a large quantity of heroin in one of the cars.
During one operation, which the Sunday Mail witnessed, an Audi A3, BMW 116i and a Vauxhall Corsa, all of which police believe belong to gang members, were clamped.
Within a few minutes, a group of men, including taxi drivers, drove into the street to witness the procedure.
Two males linked to the Audi came out of a house to complain to police about a vehicle being seized.
Officers say more than £12,000 of vehicle tax was owed by the owners of the 28 cars they have clamped.
The vehicles were identified using DVLA number plate recognition, which picks up untaxed and uninsured cars.
Those who had their cars clamped had to pay hundreds of pounds to have the devices removed.
Three of the vehicles were towed
away when the fees were not paid on time.
Detective Superintendent Kenny Graham heads Operation Engagement from a Glasgow police station. He leads a team of 30 officers taking the fight to organised crime gangs.
He said: “The catalyst for the feuds and violence we have seen in recent years has come from the Milton area.
“Since it was launched last year, Operation Engagement has become daily business for us. Our aim is to disrupt the day-to- day activities of organised crime groups and their families in their own backyards.
“We’re also working with the HMRC, DVLA and DWP to target their legitimate businesses, assets, possessions and unexplained wealth. In this case, we’ve been targeting their cars, many of which are high-value and high-performance.”
Graham said the attack on Barclay was typical of the lack of concern criminals have for public safety.
He added: “This is why Operation Engagement came about. These are violent incidents which take place in the street and have safet y impl ications for members of the public.
“There have been firearms used, there have been knives used. It presents a risk which is unacceptable.
“Operation Engagement has been targeting those individuals who we believe are involved in these incidents and feuds.”
Barclay, 26, is a close associate of senior Daniel crime family member Steven “Bonzo” Daniel.
Both Barclay and Bonzo were among the 100 crime figures i s sued w it h threat- to- l ife warnings – known as Osmans – over their involvement in the Lyons-Daniel feud.
Graham added: “We use traditional policing methods but also look into their lifestyles. We look intoo their backgrounds.
“We ask what type of businesses they’re involved in and we target that.
“If you choose to get involved in this type of behaviour where there is a complete disregard for the safety of others then you will be investigated.
“If we can identify that they are not paying their car loans, we would engage with the finance companies, for example.
“If they’re not paying their car tax or insurance, we will contact the DVLA.
“If they are not paying their tax, we will bring in the HMRC.
“It’s about looking wider rather than just responding to incidents as they happen. It’s about how organised crime groups go about their daily business and targeting that.”
Barclay was ambushed near his Glasgow home in an attack witnessed by family members. He had just left
them in a car in Dykemuir Street when two two men men opened fire but but missed him missed him.
They gave chase and hit him repeatedly with what is thought to be a machete, causing serious injuries to his hand.
Graham said: “If you look about this street, there were toys in gardens.
“The ramifications that could have come from this do not bear thinking about.
“It’s this total disregard for the safety of others that we’re addressing.
“There was a firearm and a bladed weapon used. There was a chase along the street for a considerable distance.
“The blue 4x4 involved reversed along the street with the door open. It was blatant in that regard.
“Operation Engagement has become the norm, it’s how we operate.
“It’s about targeting them on all the various levels of their lives.”
Graham is also hoping that the success of Operation Engagement will
encourage encourag more people in areas like MiltonMilton, wwhere criminals have a stranglehold, to come forward with information about their activities.
He said: “People can now be reassured that any information we’re given will be acted on.”
Last May, Bonzo, 37, was seriously assaulted in Glasgow’s Port Dundas. Nine men have appeared in court in connection with the attack.
Barclay is the partner of Steven Daniel’s sister Gemma and they have a child together.
He walked free from the High Court in Edinburgh last June when he stood trial for the attempted murder of Mark Bristow, 32, who was left paralysed after being knocked down, then shot at point- blank range in May 2015.
Graham said: “It can seem like an interesting career choice to go down but is not all it’s cracked up to be to be.
“If people make that choice to become involved in that type of contact, we’ll identify who they are, get to know how they operate and then target them.”
Our aim is to disrupt day-to-day activities of these organised crime groups in their own backyards