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 Sunday.
Family of baby killed by mum with hairdryer demand probe into social work failings
The family of a three-month-old baby who died after being blasted with a hairdryer by her mum have demanded an investigation into claims of social work failings.
Courtney Gartshore was jailed for six years on Friday for killing her tragic daughter Dahlia-Rose.
Gartshore, 28, subjected the infant to “significant and sustained heat” on the head and body on September 30, 2023.
Emergency services were called to their home on King Street in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, but the tot had died.
Gartshore, the sole parent listed on the baby’s birth certificate, was convicted of culpable homicide after a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen last month.
Aberdeenshire Council is now under pressure to investigate alleged missed opportunities to investigate concerns raised in the care of Dahlia-Rose.
READ MORE: Family of baby killed by mum with hairdryer demand probe into social work failings
Drunken lout assaulted boss at Christmas party
A staff Christmas party ended with a professional driver assaulting his boss, hurling bigoted abuse at colleagues and smashing up a fleet of company vehicles worth more than £500,000.
James Mackie was sacked and faces being jailed after drunkenly falling out with his workmates and leaving a trail of destruction costing more than £32,000 to repair.
Mackie cost the company tens of thousands of pounds more in losses due to the buses, vans and cars being so badly damaged they were put off the road for weeks.
A court heard how the 51-year-old lost the plot and his job after smashing numerous windows of vehicles belonging to his employer, Elizabeth Yule Coaches in Pitlochry, Perthshire.
He admitted assaulting a female company director and hurling vile homophobic abuse at others as a festive bowling and restaurant trip descended into a drink-fuelled late night rampage.
READ MORE: Drunken lout assaulted boss at Christmas party and left £32k of damage on motors
Encrochat bust caught ‘Tubbyraven and Happy.com’ flaunting cocaine blocks
A number of criminals have been caged in Scotland after French authorities cracked the highly encrypted EncroChat messaging service in 2020.
Gangsters, drug lords, weapons dealers and county lines runners have been rounded up after their dodgy dealings were exposed on the app. The Record’s new series will explore Scotland’s biggest encrochat busts – and the individuals behind the deals who believed they were untouchable.
It wasn’t long after the international Encrochat crack that police in Scotland began investigating the handles ‘Happy.com’, ‘Tubbyraven’ and ‘Lividbeta’. Once encrypted messages revealed that the usernames were owned by members of an organised crime group based in Glasgow and the surrounding areas, involved in the supply of diamorphine and cocaine.
Some conversations included blocks of cocaine embossed with luxury brand stamps and the supply of heroin. Police were able to link the three handles to Paul Martin, Peter Dickson and Grant Jaap.
Martin, 45, orchestrated the criminal operation. Police investigations into the group revealed how he was behind the ‘Happy.com’ moniker.
He led the group and was involved in the adulteration and distribution of Class A drugs across the Central Belt. Martin was able to source large quantities of drugs at a time through his connections with other organised crime group members.
Dickson, 36, was Martin’s second in command and was found to use the ‘Tubbyraven’ handle. He was involved in the buying and selling of drugs.
Jaap, 32, was known as ‘Lividbeta’ and he stored, adulterated, and distributed multi-kilo quantities of cocaine and diamorphine on behalf of Martin.
READ MORE: Encrochat bust caught ‘Tubbyraven and Happy.com’ flaunting cocaine blocks and dirty cash
Deadly enemies swapped sporting careers for lives of gang violence
Two promising athletes turned their back on sport to pursue a life of crime and became deadly enemies in the process.
Ross McGill was young sprinter who would go on to run for Scotland while youth footballer Mark Richardson was on Hibs books and a contemporary of future Celtic and Scotland captain Scott Brown.
However a row over a £500,000 consignment of cocaine allegedly paid for with fake money put McGill and Richardson at loggerheads and lead to unprecedented levels of violence on the streets of Scotland. As a promising sprinter with the Renfrewshire athletics club Kilbarchan Harriers, McGill from East Kilbride, in Lanarkshire,had been called into a training group for the Scottish Athletics team coached by Olympian Brian Whittle, now a Tory MSP.
At the age of 18 he was picked to represent his country in the Celtic games in Antrim, Northern Ireland, in August 2011 and came second in the 100 metres. McGill also set a highly impressive personal best time of just over 11 seconds. However while in his late teens he appeared to turn his back on a promising athletics career and joined the Rangers fans group, the Union Bears.
By 2021, he was its leader – or Capo – with access all areas at Ibrox, and had been photographed with Rangers captain James Tavernier and then manager Steven Gerard. Nobody at Ibrox suspected there was anything wrong with this outwardly pleasant and articulate individual.
READ MORE: Scotland’s Crimelords: Deadly enemies swapped sporting careers for lives of gang violence
Barlinnie replacement could cost over £1m per prisoner
Scotland’s jail-building fiasco is likely to cost taxpayers over £1million per prisoner.
The bill for a replacement HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow was last year estimated to be £1billion – almost 10 times the original 2014 price tag.
However sources have warned the final cost of the over-budget and delayed 1344 cell facility – scheduled for completion in 2028 – could soar even further.
Meanwhile the new 200 cell HMP Highland in Inverness, also due to come into service in spring 2027, is now £209million – up from an initial £52million estimate ten years ago.
A senior official said: “The current projected spend for these two projects is £1.2billion – but from estimates of around £150million just a decade ago.
“Given what we know about the public sector’s ability to deliver large scale infrastructure projects, it would be safe to assume these figures will continue to rise given we are still years out from completion dates.”
READ MORE: Barlinnie replacement could cost more than £1m per prisoner
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