Gangster on hidden Glock mission faces long jail stretch

A FOOTSOLDIER in the Glasgow and Edinburgh mob wars is facing substantial jail time for using a metal detector to search for a deadly Glock pistol dumped in bushes.

- By James Mulholland

Liam McDermid, 25, used the device to try to locate the firearm in undergrowth at the Roseburn cycle path in Edinburgh.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard yesterday how the weapon and 9mm bullets for it was recovered by the police near the nursery and junior buildings of St George's School on June 11 this year.

McDermid, of Magdalene Gardens, Edinburgh, had been seen on the path on June 5 with the detector and was later arrested. And yesterday,

'He emerged from bushes with detector'

McDermid, who has 25 previous convictions, became the first gangster to be prosecuted via Police Scotland's Operation Portaledge.

The operation was launched to tackle gangland activity associated with the Daniel, Lyons and Richardson crime gangs.

Describing McDermid's role in the affair, Prosecutor David Dickson KC said: "The police surveillance operation which led to the accused being observed in possession of a metal detector in the area where the firearm was recovered forms part of the wider police operation in relation to recently reported organised crime activity in Edinburgh.