For decades, two gangs have dominated the Scottish mafia scene: the Daniel family in Glasgow and the Richardsons in Edinburgh.
The gangs are allies, and although they have had their rivals – notably the Lyons of Glasgow – they have kept their turf and remained powerful players in the criminal underworld for years.
But now they are both at risk of being annihilated. A top-level Irish gangster based in Dubai nicknamed Mr Big has blamed the two gangs for stealing a £500K shipment of cocaine and has put ‘£100K’ bounties on kingpins Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel and Mark Richardson.
Using a mysterious gang of violent mercenaries called Tamo Junto (Portuguese for ‘We are together’), Mr Big has started a violent gang war using shootings and firebombs in his effort to make the Daniel and Richardson clans go ‘extinct’.
But while their deaths might clear the path for Mr Big to sell cocaine largely uninterrupted into the country, the eradication of those two gangs could also ignite a more widespread turf war as young gangsters vie to become Scotland’s next godfather.
A former Scottish police detective speaking on the condition of anonymity told MailOnline: ‘If it all goes horribly wrong with [the Daniels and Richardsons] and there’s a vacuum, someone is going to fill it.
‘Where there’s money to be made, there will be serious and organised crime. If a vacuum is created, there could be a power struggle.’
Furthermore, MailOnline can reveal exactly who these young mobsters are and where their gangs operate using detailed gangland maps of both major Scottish cities.
Kingpin Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel (pictured), who was scarred in a grisly attack by rival gangsters armed with a meat cleaver, is being targeted in a fresh gang war with the elusive Irish criminal Mr Big
His Edinburgh-based associate, mob boss Mark Richardson (pictured), has also been targeted. A former police detective said if the Daniels and Richardsons are wiped out a more widespread gang war could take hold in Scotland
They will be watching closely as the top-tier gangs make their next move.
Mr Big is reportedly thirsty to bag a murder and it is believed ‘Bonzo’ has fled the country.
Richardson however is stuck in solitary confinement in HMP Moss, where he is seven years into a nine-year sentence for having a Glock handgun and being part of a 65-mph police car chase in north Glasgow.
Even so, it is believed he has sent a group of men to Dubai, where Mr Big is based, to track down the gangster and his cronies.
Meanwhile, analysis by MailOnline has identified 344 gangs who could engage in a sprawling gang feud across Edinburgh and Glasgow to claim the title of Scotland’s godfather.
And although some gangsters have claimed they will try not to harm members of the public, the ex-detective speaking to the Mail was sceptical.
He said: ‘What goes on in the real world is murky and horrible. These people just don’t care.
‘People are just collateral damage if you get in the way. That’s just how cold and callous they are.’
Explaining the gangsters’ mindsets, former international drug smuggler turned Harley Street addiction counsellor Mark Dempster said: ‘You get people whose egos are fragile.
‘It’s no different to when you have mafia – when you disrespect someone, they have no choice but to kill you. It’s all about feeding the egos for the people in power.
Mr Big’s enforcers in Scotland have filmed themselves setting homes on fire in their campaign of violence
Homes and shops supposedly connected with the Daniels and Richardsons have been targeted with firebombs
In Edinburgh, one home’s window had a visible bullet hole (pictured) after a related attack last month. Police Scotland have arrested at least 20 people in connection with the violence in Glasgow and Edinburgh
Messages from Mr Big’s enforces Tamo Junto said the Daniels and Richardsons should ‘leave Scotland immediately’
‘No matter how much any [crime] family gets, they want more. It’s the same process of expanding their empire. They have got to commit violence.’
A source close to Richardson allies the Daniel crime family told MailOnline the existence of gang crime in Glasgow would ‘never change’.
A key point is that although such periods of sustained violence are rare, this turf war presents a rare opportunity for hundreds of eager and younger gangsters.
The ex-detective said: ‘The gangs are capable of anything. They don’t make idle threats. There will be action.
‘It’s a vicious circle. Drugs are probably the main driver. That’s where the big money is.’
He said key mobsters like the Daniels and Richardsons had been able to keep afloat by laundering their drug and blood money through fronts such as ‘nail bars and Turkish barbers’ used as ‘washing machines’ to make dirty money look like legally-made cash.
But while the top gangs got rich, for years, some of the smaller gangs have been on the fringes of the big time, only helping out with minor jobs for the main mob.
Now this gangland crimewave could be their chance to make it in the major-league – and gain the respect and cash that comes with it.
While speaking to MailOnline, a different former policeman, Simon McLean, 66, dissected layer by layer how Scotland’s criminal underworld is structured.
McLean was an undercover cop who infiltrated the gangs during his 28-year career.
He said: ‘You don’t have a hierarchy, what you have is an all-encompassing spread.
‘Because of the lengths of time they’ve been in business, they’ve got tentacles all over the country.’
This beauty salon in Glasgow was targeted by a firebomb in April. Police discovered a cannabis farm in an unconnected neighbouring house
Pictured: The charred remains of a carpet shop owned by an associate of the Daniel family
McLean said that instead of an organised crime syndicate broken into different gangs and levels, there was a patchwork of gangs – as displayed in MailOnline’s maps.
Instead of a series of ranks from high to low of mob boss to low-level criminal, location and criminal speciality plays a bigger part, he said.
McLean explained: ‘You get these hubs of crime. You’ve got categories of smaller, mostly geographic gangs.
‘In Glasgow, the Gorbals is drugs-orientated. Springburn is more travelling criminals. Posill is shoplifting and extortion. Partick was huge in the day for shoplifting. You could go into certain pubs there and buy or order anything.’
Further detailing the life of a hypothetical gangster, he said: ‘There might be a lieutenant within the mob. He might be well-trusted, working with them for years and I live or work on my patch [on the fringe.]
‘He will only tell me what I need to know to keep that patch running and he might sacrifice me at some point because he’s got something more important.
‘And he’s informing as well. Every one of them is informing to keep their own operations intact because they’ve all got competitors.
‘They’re all fighting each other all the time and trying to keep territories.
‘The most important thing to say is that these people are always going to do what they do.
‘They’re just people like you or I who have these affiliations and relationships with the criminal world, and it’s built on trust and mistrust and competition because they’re all chasing the same thing.’
Police Scotland is ‘working tirelessly’ to build cases against criminals fighting in the growing gang war but even so, the next few weeks could decide innocent Scots’ living conditions for years to come.
Alistair Fraser is a Scottish gangs expert. He is a Professor of Criminology at the University of Glasgow, and part of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research.
While speaking to MailOnline, former undercover policeman Simon McLean, 66, (pictured) dissected layer by layer how Scotland’s criminal underworld is structured
He told MailOnline reporter Chris Matthews (left) the gangs were not ‘hierarchy’ but ‘an all-encompassing spread’
Explaining the gangsters’ mindsets, former international drug smuggler turned Harley Street addiction counsellor Mark Dempster (pictured) said: ‘When you disrespect someone, they have no choice but to kill you’
One of his most recent reports was a policy brief into ‘the past and present of violence reduction in Scotland’.
Prof Fraser told MailOnline there was ‘a need for urgent and sustained investment in what has been termed ”social infrastructure” for young people’ to prevent them joining gangs.
He said: ‘In the aftermath of Covid-19 and funding constraints, community participants [of his report] identified that support and ‘safe spaces’ for young people who are facing multiple disadvantages was harder to access, and less readily available.
‘In one case, a youth project that had originally been converted into a Covid-19 testing centre now lay derelict.
‘As one youth worker stated: ”There are these spaces but they’re lying empty, so there needs to be people actually in them and facilitating activities.”
‘There is a lack of understanding – and corresponding fear – of young people’s use of social media.
‘Changes in society have led to increased use of technology, and the opening up of ”digital communities” for children and young people that are not always well understood by adults.
‘There is a need for youth practitioners and social media platforms to learn from young people about how to maintain ”safe spaces” across community and digital sites.’
Police Scotland has arrested at least 20 people in connection with the recent spate of fire bombings throughout Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Detective Chief Superintendent David Ferry said: ‘The arrests over the past week highlight the ongoing work that officers have been doing to target those responsible for these attacks.
‘While we believe these incidents are linked to rival groups who are targeting each other, I want to make it clear this violence will not be tolerated.
‘As well as carrying out these days of action and disruption activities, there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes, including exploring forensic opportunities and analysis of digital devices.
‘While this may not be as visible, please be assured we are working tirelessly to build cases and are following a number of significant lines of enquiry.
‘We have had a good response to our appeals and I want to thank the public for their help and information so far.
Glasgow (pictured) and Edinburgh could erupt into a wider gang war if the two main clans in Scotland are killed off, a former detective warned
Like Glasgow, Edinburgh (pictured) has already seen a spate of firebombs as part of Mr Big’s campaign to kill the Daniels and Richardsons
‘The support of our communities is absolutely vital when it comes to tackling serious organised crime, preventing violence and getting justice for victims. Your information really can make a difference.
‘If you know anything about who is responsible for these dangerous and abhorrent acts, please do the right thing and speak to us.’
Anyone who can assist their enquiries is asked to contact Police Scotland via 101 quoting incident number 0562 of Friday, 21 March, 2025.
Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be given anonymously.
Policing and justice are devolved matters under control of the Scottish rather than the UK Government.
A Scottish Government spokesman told MailOnline: ‘We are investing a record £1.62billion for policing in 2025/26 – an increase of £70million on 2024/25, and Police Scotland took on more recruits last financial year than at any time since 2013, with further intakes planned throughout 2025.
‘The reported incidents in Glasgow and Edinburgh are an operational matter for Police Scotland, and it would not be appropriate to comment on a live investigation.
‘We strongly encourage anyone who has information to report it to Police Scotland or anonymously through Crimestoppers.’
- Do YOU have a story? Email chris.matthews@mailonline.co.uk
