We take a look at some of his most shocking moments.
Paul Ferris has lived a turbulent life of chaos, violence and crime.
The former Glasgow gangster-turned author is perhaps one of the most recognisable figures from Scotland’s modern true-crime history. From enforcing for “Godfather” Arthur Thompson to an intense feud with rival kingpin Tam McGraw, his life has taken dark twists and turns with stints in jail and involvement with firearms.
We take a look at some of his most shocking moments.
Early Revenge Knife Attacks
Growing up in Glasgow’s notorious Blackhill estate, Ferris endured years of physical bullying by a local criminal family, the Welshes. But by his late teens, he decided to stop hiding.
He launched a series of extreme, calculated knife attacks against his former tormentors, which led to his arrest at the age of 17. His teenage knife assaults resulted in his first stretch at a Young Offenders Institution.
This sudden and ferocious pivot to violence completely shifted his reputation, instantly drawing the attention of the city’s ruling underworld.
Becoming the “Robot” Enforcer
By 19, Ferris was recruited as debt collector and enforcer for Glasgow’s undisputed crime lord Arthur “The Godfather” Thompson.
Ferris earned nicknames like “The Robot” because of his cold-blooded and detached precision when he carried out his duties.
His daily “business” operations on behalf of the Thompson family involved orchestrating or directly executing violence. “The Godfather” and had links to London mobsters, the Kray twins.
The Murder of Arthur “Fat Boy” Thompson Jr
By the late 1980s, Ferris believed the Thompson family had betrayed him to the police, sparking a vicious turf war. On 17 August 1991, Arthur Thompson Jr was shot dead outside his father’s home.
Ferris was immediately pinned as the prime suspect, accused of executing the son of his former mentor in a direct challenge to the Godfather’s crown. But Ferris was found not guilty of the murder after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow in 1992.
At the time, it became Scotland’s longest murder trial.
The case remains officially unsolved.
The MI5 Gun-Running Bust
In 1997, Ferris’s criminal career came to an abrupt halt following a massive, two-year joint surveillance operation by MI5 and Special Branch.
He was ambushed and arrested in London while transporting submachine guns, Uzi magazines, silencers, and live ammunition hidden inside an Opal Fruits sweet box. MI5 spent six months on Ferris’s trail, using all their skills in human and electronic surveillance to help police track his every move.
And they got their reward in May 1997 after Ferris made a call to a London gun dealer – on a tapped mobile phone. Ferris was the first gangster MI5 had ever gone after. The service usually focused on fighting threats to Britain’s security.
He was sentenced to ten years at the Old Bailey.
Feud with Tam McGraw
The feud between Paul Ferris and Tam “The Licensee” McGraw was one of the most toxic power struggles in Scottish true-crime history. Initially allies under Arthur ‘Godfather’ Thompson, the two became bitter adversaries, turning the streets of Glasgow into a warzone.
The feud broke out after Ferris’ conviction that McGraw was a police informant. McGraw earned the moniker “The Licensee” because rival criminals believed the police gave him a literal “license” to build a drug empire without fear of arrest, in exchange for intelligence on other gangsters.
While serving a prison sentence in the late 1990s, Ferris penned his first autobiography. He used the book to very publicly humiliate McGraw, explicitly naming him as a police grass and stating that McGraw should “fear the onslaught that will follow.”
In May 2002, a violent altercation occurred involving Ferris and McGraw, where McGraw was slashed and Ferris suffered knife wounds.
Following the knife attack, a meeting involving Ferris caught on police surveillance led to Ferris having his parole revoked and being sent back to prison. McGraw subsequently spent time living in Ireland and Spain to avoid the underworld backlash sparked by the feud.
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