Key figure in Scotland’s gang war is arrested: British crime lord Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel is detained in dawn raid on his home
A key figure in Scotland's long-running gangland feud, Steven "Bonzo" Daniel, 46, was arrested in a dawn raid at his home in Robroyston, on the outskirts of Glasgow. Daniel is widely believed to lead the Daniel crime family, which has been locked in a violent 25-year feud with the rival Lyons clan, a rivalry also linked to a wider gang war that erupted across Scotland's central belt in March last year, marked by arson attacks and attempted murders.
The arrest was carried out under Operation Venetic, the investigation stemming from the hacking of the EncroChat encrypted messaging platform, with dozens of officers involved before Daniel was handcuffed and taken away. A second man, Steven Gordon, 39, was arrested nearby in Garthamlock, with both held over serious organised crime, firearms and drugs offences. It follows the arrest of Lyons family chief Steven Lyons, who is awaiting trial in Spain, and comes amid ongoing police inquiries into a suspicious fire and a car crash in Glasgow, despite Police Scotland having declared last month that the gang war had ended.
- Alleged Daniel crime family boss Steven "Bonzo" Daniel arrested in Glasgow raid
- Arrest part of EncroChat-linked Operation Venetic probe into organised crime
- Comes as police probe possible resurgence of Scotland's gang war
New here? Start with this
Steven "Bonzo" Daniel is a man widely regarded as a leading figure in one of Glasgow's most notorious organised crime networks, the Daniel family. For around 25 years, this group has been engaged in a bitter and often violent rivalry with another criminal network, the Lyons family, with the feud spilling into public view through incidents of violence across Scotland's central belt.
The rivalry escalated sharply in March last year, when a new wave of attacks, including arson and attempted murders, prompted police to treat it as an active gang war. Investigators have been using evidence gathered under Operation Venetic, a long-running police operation built on data obtained after officers cracked EncroChat, an encrypted phone network once used by criminals to communicate without detection.
The feud matters because it has repeatedly put public safety at risk in and around Glasgow, drawing extensive police resources and scrutiny. Senior figures linked to both sides have faced arrest in recent times, including a leading figure in the Lyons family who is currently awaiting trial in Spain, underlining that the dispute has had consequences reaching beyond Scotland.