Police probe gang attacks

POLICE are investigating an alleged extortion gang in connection with a series of baseball bat attacks on the homes of Lothian businessmen.

A property developer and his family are among those to have been targeted by thugs to terrorise them into giving up claims on money or property.

The gang is believed to include "white collar" professionals, including at least one lawyer, who provide a respectable front for their criminal activities.

The three attacks took place at homes in Blackhall, Livingston and the south of the city, stretching back more than three years.

The ringleaders are said to have links with the shamed Royal Bank of Scotland boss Donald Mackenzie, who was jailed for ten years for fraud and embezzlement in 2006, which was reduced to six years and eight months on appeal.

At least one gang member was also questioned in connection with the brutal knife attack on former Law Society of Scotland accountant Leslie Cumming in the same year.

A source close to the investigation said: "These guys are outwardly respectable and people dealing with them day to day would be shocked to know what has been going on.

"They seem to have got used to the idea that they can operate outside the law, but detectives are building a case against them."

The first attack was carried out in the Murieston area of Livingston in October 2005, when three men wielding baseball bats attacked a businessman in his own home, breaking his arm and causing other injuries.

It was followed by an attack on two city businessmen's homes.

One man has been jailed for one of the attacks but never revealed who had paid him to carry it out.

One of the gang is believed to be one of 250 crooked lawyers, accountants and other "specialists" who give criminals professional help, identified by a "police "mapping" operation led by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA).

The Scottish Government said the country's law enforcement agencies were determined to trace Scotland's organised crime gangs.

"Organised criminals are driven by their own greed and their desire for power and influence. However, they cannot and will not be allowed to spread their criminal networks," said a Scottish Government spokesman. "This government is determined to take them on and take them down."

An official police spokesman declined to comment.

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