Time to tackle organised crime

The Scottish Parliament should focus on the many big challenges facing the country. This seems obvious.

- BY WEST SCOTLAND MSP RUSSELL FINDLAY

So, it’s perplexing that the devastating harm of organised crime is so often overlooked by the left-wing Holyrood establishment of SNP and Labour politicians.

Three years ago, the SNP government unveiled its flagship crime-fighting strategy titled A Vision for Justice.

Guess how many times this glossy publication mentioned the words “organised crime”?

Not once.

I spent decades as a journalist investigating the power, wealth and scale of Scotland’s drugs gangs and their white-collar enablers - lawyers, accountants and front men and women.

One of the reasons I got into politics in 2021 is because I couldn’t understand why so few politicians are prepared to talk about their malevolent reach and the devastating harm they cause.

Last week, two members of the Lyons mob, allies of a major Paisley gang and the global Kinahan cartel, were shot dead in Spain.