Podcast Summary: The Underworld Podcast

Episode Title: Scotland's Narco Blood Feud Explodes!
Release Date: June 10, 2025
Hosts: Sean Williams & Danny Gold

Episode Overview

This explosive episode provides a deep dive into Scotland's ongoing underworld war—an escalating blood feud that has gripped Glasgow and Edinburgh with brutal violence, power struggles, and transnational criminal alliances. Journalists Sean Williams and Danny Gold trace the decades-long rivalry between the Daniel and Lyons crime families, how their turf war has drawn in Irish super-cartels, South American drug routes, football hooligans, and a terrifying new actor from Dubai. The hosts unspool a gripping narrative that connects grisly local attacks to a wider global criminal network, illustrating how Scotland has become a battleground for modern narco warfare.

Major Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Dover Banana Cocaine Bust (00:30–05:53)

• In September 2020, a massive Border Force operation uncovers over a ton of cocaine hidden in Ecuadorian banana shipments, destined for David Bilsland—a Glasgow grocer with underworld ties—and Jamie Stevenson, notorious as “The Iceman” ("Scotland's answer to Tony Soprano").
• This bust, dubbed "Operation Pepperoni," exposes deep connections stretching from the UK and Spain to Ecuador and Abu Dhabi, but authorities fear it will simply trigger even more violent power struggles.

2. Origins: The Daniel-Lyons Family Feud (08:28–14:43)

• Glasgow's 1990s narco scene is dominated by the Daniel and Lyons families, battling over a cocaine and heroin market estimated at $400 million.
• The violence escalates from thefts at house parties to public shootouts and even grave desecrations.
• Key Incidents:
  • 2006 Garage Shooting: Masked hitmen murder 21-year-old Michael Lyons in a “Godfather”-esque attack (13:04).
  • The feud intensifies with tit-for-tat shootings, kidnappings, and extortion attempts.

"Think Montagues and Capulets only with Stone island jackets and face like chewed up dog toys. Really makes you proud to be British, this stuff."
– Sean Williams, 11:19

3. Outsize Personalities and Brutal Enforcers (14:43–22:55)

• Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll, a Daniel chief enforcer, becomes infamous for his unpredictable violence, including desecrating graves and orchestrating abductions and shootings.
• Carroll is murdered in 2010 in a spectacular daylight supermarket car park hit—"arguably the most public gangland hit ever carried out in Scotland" (21:01).

4. Power Vacuums, Super-Cartels, and International Ties (22:55–30:11)

• The murder of key figures and successful police operations create instability, enabling the Lyons family to forge alliances with the global Kinahan cartel (Irish mafia) and expand their influence from Spain to Dubai.
• The episode highlights a vicious cycle: every gangland “win” for police seems to spark new violence and alliances.

"You need to keep your foot on the neck of the violence."
– Unnamed retired cop, quoted by Sean Williams, 39:00

5. Cocaine, Benzos, and Scotland’s Drug Crisis (28:27–34:18)

• While knife and gun violence grabs headlines, Scotland spirals into a drug crisis: heroin, cocaine, and especially benzodiazepines (street benzos).
• Dundee and Edinburgh emerge as epicenters of addiction and innovative criminal practices like “cuckooing” (taking over homes for drug activities).
• Despite major busts, drug death rates in Scotland are more than four times higher than two decades ago.

"Dundee...has some of the worst stats of drug abuse in the whole UK. Cuckooing...has become so rife in the city that NGOs have been set up specifically to combat it."
– Sean Williams, 30:25

6. Soccer Hooligans and Narco Culture Collide (34:18–39:00)

• The city’s football culture, particularly the ultras of Rangers (Union Bears) and Celtic (Green Brigade), feeds into criminal operations:
  • Hooligan groups are involved in trafficking and violence.
  • Lloyd Cross, a prominent Union Bear, uses his vehicle firm to ship drugs, leading to open support for criminal associates at Rangers matches.
• Drug-fuelled football violence becomes a larger societal problem.

7. New Blood: Brazilian and Dubai Connections (41:56–46:00)

• Amid the power vacuum, a new player emerges: Ross “Miami” McGill, a former Union Bears ultra, takes charge from Dubai with Brazilian cartel links.
• McGill’s group, Tamo Junto ("We are together" in Portuguese), adopts cartel-style tactics: social media threats, firebombings, targeting family members—mirroring the tactics of Latin American cartels.

“This is like Mexican cartel level stuff happening here, huh?”
– Danny Gold, 45:56

8. Escalating Violence, Social Media Threats & “Tamo Junto” (45:00–48:06)

• Tamo Junto makes public videos of attacks, uses skull-and-rifles insignia with Scottish colors, and issues chilling warnings to rival families.
• Even children of gangsters are at risk; violence is spreading beyond Scotland into Spain and Thailand.

9. Live Crisis: Murders and Global Reach (48:06–49:28)

• Just before recording, two ex-feud members (Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jr.) are killed in Malaga, Spain, showing how the Scottish gang war now transcends borders.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sean on Scotland’s cycles of violence:
  “Every time police have a success, it's actually pouring petrol on the fire.” (41:56)

• On drug death rates:
  “Scotland now has the worst drug death rate in Europe, with over twice the rate of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.” (40:20)

• On football’s role in crime:
  “Research last year suggested that cocaine use...may have superseded excessive drinking as a cause of violence and antisocial conduct in the modern game.” (34:18)

• On the new Brazilian/Glaswegian cartel's branding:
  "It does look like a death squad from a Marvel movie. But also I see tmj. Isn't TMJ that thing that people get in their jaw?"
  – Danny Gold, 45:16

Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:30 | The Dover Banana Cocaine Bust & Operation Pepperoni | | 08:28 | Daniel-Lyons Family Feud History | | 13:04 | 2006 Garage Shooting: Spark of Open Gang Warfare | | 21:01 | Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll’s Murder: Scotland’s Most Notorious Hit | | 22:55 | Lyons Super-Cartel Expansion and International Links | | 28:27 | Scotland’s Soaring Drug Crisis (Heroin, Cocaine, Benzos) | | 34:18 | Football Ultras/Drug Cartel Nexus | | 41:56 | Power Vacuum & Emergence of "Miami" and Tamo Junto | | 45:00 | Tamo Junto's Social Media Campaigns & Public Attack Videos | | 48:06 | Identification of Ross “Miami” McGill & His Business History | | 49:28 | Recent Double Murder in Spain: The Feud’s Expanding Global Reach |

Final Thoughts

The episode paints a vivid, sometimes darkly humorous, picture of how Scotland’s narco feuds have evolved from local turf wars to a chaotic, blood-soaked battle touching Dubai, Brazil, and Spain. By blending investigative insights, local color, media analysis, and personal anecdotes, Danny and Sean create an immersive true crime narrative that will fascinate anyone interested in the global underworld, modern organized crime—and just how deeply football, drugs, and violence are woven together in Scotland’s ongoing saga.

For listeners seeking more:

• Dive into The Underworld Podcast's back catalog covering the Kinahan cartel, European super-cartels, and more.
• Search “ice cream wars” and “Encrochat” for historical context referenced in this episode.

Contact:
Tips and insights: underworldpodcastmail.com

Support:
Patreon.com/theunderworldpodcast

Prepared for listeners and readers who want an in-depth understanding without having to listen to the full episode. All timestamps and quotes are accurate to the speakers’ original tone and manner.