Four men jailed for 'gangland war' fire-raising attacks

Four men have been jailed for their roles in a series of fire-raising attacks carried out as part of a "gangland war".

Kieran Abercrombie, 32, and Robert Thomson, 18, conspired with others to damage properties and vehicles in Glasgow and Edinburgh in May 2025.

Along with 19-year-olds Kenzie Gardner and Tyler Ramage, the men set fire to a Land Rover and an Audi car that were parked outside a family home in Edinburgh's Morningside.

Sentencing the men at the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord Mulholland said: "Gangsterism is never acceptable in a civilised society."

The court heard that Abercrombie and Thomson had conspired to damage property associated with Mark Richardson, who was jailed along with his father in 2017 for dealing cocaine.

Richardson was previously sentenced to 10 years in 2010 for his part in a cocaine and crack cocaine distribution network.

On 8 May last year, Abercrombie, Thomson and Gardner set fire to a building housing Glasgow Private Hire business.

On the same day they joined Ramage in setting fire to the two vehicles in Edinburgh, causing an estimated £100,000 of damage. The property belongs to David McMillan - an associate of Richardson.

The incidents came during a conflict involving Daniel, Lyons and Richardson crime gangs which operate in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

The four men were caught in Operation Portaledge - a Police Scotland operation set up in response to gang violence across Scotland.

On Tuesday, Abercrombie, a prisoner of HMP Addiewell, was jailed for nine years and Thomson, of Whitburn, was sentenced to six years and eight months detention.

Gardener was sentenced to a five years and four months detention and Ramage was given a four-year detention. Both men are from Bathgate.

The men pled guilty to offences including of wilful fire-raising and conspiracy last month.

Passing sentence, Lord Mulholland said: "You all pled guilty to varying degrees of firebombing a business, firebombing two cars in the driveway of a private dwelling, plotting to firebomb another private dwelling and possession of a stun gun.

"The background to all of this is that it was part of a gangland war as the serious organised crime aggravation attests to.

"If that was not serious enough, the taxi premises in charge one was in operation and two employees were working there at the time.

"You could quite easily have been facing a murder charge had the fire taken a different course. We can see the dangers of fires from recent events in Glasgow."

The judge said the attack in Morningside was carried out in daylight and there was a family with children in the house at the time.

Lord Mulholland said a third charge involved a plan to firebomb cars at another Edinburgh address, but the attack was stopped before it could be carried out.

The judge said the men received payment for their "nefarious work".

He added: "There is a heavy price to pay for those caught doing this criminality and you are about to pay that price."

Lord Mulholland said the criminality by the younger offenders had "little" to do with a lack of maturity.

"It was sheer naked gangsterism, pure and simple," he said.

Following sentencing, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said it would continue to take "robust action" against all those who are involved in violent offending.

A spokesperson said: "These convictions underline our determination to ensure that those who commit this type of violent offending are prosecuted with all the tools at our disposal.

"I hope that these sentences send a strong message to others involved in this kind of criminal behaviour, that police and prosecutors will investigate, prepare and prosecute serious and organised crime of this nature."