Every day on Criminal Record we will be bringing you a round-up of the biggest crime stories of the day.
If you love to read about crime in Scotland – this is the place to be every day.
Here’s what has been making the news across the country on Saturday.
Ex-Ayr United star unmasked as drugs courier
Former Ayr United footballer, Paul Shepherd, was jailed for more than nine years after being exposed as a trusted courier for a major drug gang through the EncroChat hack.
The 48-year-old, was caught with a fist-sized bag of cocaine and a phone loaded with the highly encrypted messaging platform when he was arrested in Leeds in April 2020.
What officers did not know at the time was that French investigators had already infiltrated EncroChat – a service used by criminals around the world who believed their messages could never be traced.
The breakthrough gave police access to thousands of conversations between organised crime figures and would ultimately help bring down the four-man gang Shepherd was working for.
Read more: Ex-Ayr United star unmasked as ‘trusted courier’ for underworld drug gang
Edinburgh Asda taped off by police
A man is in a ‘serious condition’ in hospital after being found outside an Edinburgh supermarket late last night. Emergency services were called to Asda Chesser Supercentre on Slateford Road, near the Corn Exchange, shortly before 11pm on Friday, September 4.
Police locked down the scene after a 26-year-old man was found injured. He was taken to hospital where doctors have described his condition as “serious”.
In images shared on social media, police vehicles can be seen in the Asda store car park with their blue lights flashing. Police officers were also spotted wearing blue gloves and searching through the trolley area outside the store.
Read more: Edinburgh Asda taped off by police after injured man found in ‘serious condition’
Drug gang enforcers face jail
Drug mob lieutenants linked to notorious Scots gangsters Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson and Stephen “Jimmy” Jamieson are facing jail after a savage attack which left a man scarred for life.
Two of Jamieson’s brothers, his dad, and a member of his drug dealing gang are all awaiting sentence following the assault and the resulting violence. Street valium kingpin Gary Jamieson and cocaine dealer Steven Caddis set upon their victim at a remote cottage.
Jimmy’s dad George and brother Darren were then arrested for assaulting police officers investigating the attack. Caddis is one of Jimmy’s closest allies, and they were jailed together in 2009 after police busted their multi-million pound drug ring in a sting similar to hit American TV series The Wire.
Jimmy is an associate of Jamie Stevenson, who is also nicknamed Bull. Stevenson is serving a 16-year sentence for trying to import £100million worth of cocaine into Scotland from South America.
Read more: Drug gang enforcers linked to Scots kingpins face jail after savage attack
Homeless hotel crime figures not released
Police Scotland has refused to release crime figures linked to a “hellhole” homeless hotel claiming concerns over “heightened community tensions”.
The Queen’s Park Hotel – which houses homeless people and asylum seekers in Glasgow’s leafy southside – has long been a flashpoint of drugs, sex offences and violence.
Despairing neighbours on Balvicar Drive have demanded action after being too scared to leave their homes. The latest incidents saw residents of the hotel allegedly injecting heroin on the pavement outside and a man stabbed nearby.
The Record issued a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Police Scotland to determine the scale of the anti-social behaviour recorded at the hotel since July 2025.
Read more: Police refuse to release crime figures linked to ‘hellhole’ homeless hotel in Glasgow
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