Police recover gun from path in gang feud probe

Police have recovered a firearm from a footpath in Edinburgh thought to be linked to an outbreak of gang violence.

Officers cordoned off a large section of Roseburn Path on Friday following the discovery of the weapon as part of Operation Portaledge.

A feud between rival criminal gangs in Edinburgh and Glasgow has escalated with firebomb attacks and physical violence in recent months.

Det Ch Supt David Ferry, of Police Scotland's specialist crime division, said "extensive inquiries" were ongoing.

The area, which is regularly used by cyclists and walkers, remains closed off between Roseburn Terrace and Ravelston Dykes.

It is also earmarked to be the route for an extension to Edinburgh's tram line.

Police said they had now recovered "a number of weapons" in connection with the investigation.

Officers began investigating a feud between rival groups in the east and west of the country earlier this year following a series of incidents.

A total of 42 people have been arrested as part of the operation as of last week, according to the force.

Several vehicles were set alight in suspected targeted attacks in the Niddrie area, where the feud initially started, on Monday.

Det Ch Supt Ferry said: "I hope this latest find helps to reassure the community of our continued resolve to target organised crime.

"Extensive inquiries are ongoing and I urge anyone who knows something that could assist with our investigation to please contact to us."

2 March: The unrest first breaks out when a car is set on fire in the Parrotshot area of Edinburgh.

6 March: A beauty salon in Edinburgh is the first building to be hit after it was set alight in the early hours of the morning.

16 March: A property in Milton Road East, Portobello was next to be set on fire.

20 and 21 March: Reports of shots being fired in Marischal Crescent, Niddrie. Five hours later, shots were also fired in West Pilton Bank, Edinburgh. Police confirmed the incidents were thought to be "linked to groups who are actively targeting each other".

3 April: Local officers carried out raids on five houses in Edinburgh and Musselburgh alongside Police Scotland's specialist organised crime team. A number of items relevant to the investigation were seized including weapons, drugs and cash. Two men were arrested and charged with drugs offences.

4 April: A house on Hay Drive, in the Niddrie area, was targeted at about 01:20. The blaze quickly spread to a neighbouring property and both were badly damaged. Later that day detectives, supported by firearms officers, executed two additional firearms search warrants in the Leith area of Edinburgh.

3 April: A house was deliberately set on fire more than 50 miles away in Cortmalaw Gardens, in the Robroyston area of Glasgow.

4 April: A premises in Milton Road, Kirkintilloch is next to be targeted.

7 April: Three homes are targeted within hours of each other. Properties in Gala Street Street and Ashgill Road, Glasgow, and Meadow Court, Stepps, were all set alight in the early hours.

8 April: A fire at a carpet business in Bishopbriggs is the latest business to be hit.

12 April: The feud turns violent after a 72-year-old and a 12-year-old are seriously assaulted at a house in Egilsay Crescent in Milton shortly after midnight.

14 April: Police Scotland confirm they were called to two fires in Bishopbriggs - one in Colston Drive and one in John Marshall Drive, both at about 12:50. Investigations over whether these fires are linked to the feud are still taking place.

17 April: The feud appears to return to the capital after a house in Pitcairn Grove in the Craiglockhart area of Edinburgh is hit. Two fire engines and a height appliance were sent to the scene at about 01:45 to extinguish the flames. Police Scotland said they were considering the attack was linked to the other incidents.

1 June: Two men with gangland connections, Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr, are shot dead at a bar in Spain. Police have said there is no evidence to suggest a link to the feud in Scotland.

On the same night, a large property in Bridge of Weir is firebombed.

6 June: Police confirm a total of 42 people have been arrested during investigations into the feud, which is given then name Operation Portaledge.

More than 8,000 homes have been visited and over 1,600 vehicles stopped as part of the current investigation.

9 June: A full circle moment as the police are called to a property on Niddrie Marischal Crescent at 03:55 after a Ford Transit van went up in flames.

Five minutes later a Range Rover Evoque was found alight about half a mile away on Campion Road, and the vehicle was also destroyed by fire.

11 June: Police recover firearm believed to be linked to violence from Roseburn Path in Edinburgh.