Key Points
- Three men – Marshall O’Hara, 21, Fraser Stewart, 22, and Aiden McLaughlin, 21 – have been sentenced at Glasgow High Court for a series of firebomb attacks linked to a gang‑related feud involving the Daniel crime family.
- O’Hara and Stewart were each jailed for seven‑and‑a‑half years, while McLaughlin received a three‑year sentence, bringing their combined custodial term to 18 years.
- The attacks targeted three residential properties in Glasgow and a carpet‑store outlet in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire, all connected to members or associates of the Daniel crime family.
- The men were caught largely through CCTV and doorstep‑security‑camera footage, including one clip showing McLaughlin’s trainers catching fire as he jumped from a roof after a firebombing.
- O’Hara and Stewart pleaded guilty to four counts of wilful fire‑raising against the residential and commercial premises; McLaughlin admitted involvement in the fire attack on the Carpet Store outlet only.
- Charges of attempted murder against the trio were later removed from the indictment, and they were not convicted of the alleged attacks on another Bishopbriggs residence and a Glasgow beauty salon that had also been linked to the Daniel family.
Glasgow (Glasgow Express) May 13, 2026 – Three men have been jailed for a total of 18 years at Glasgow High Court after admitting a spate of firebomb attacks on homes and a business linked to the Daniel crime family during a wider gangland feud. Marshall O’Hara, 21, Fraser Stewart, 22, and Aiden McLaughlin, 21, were sentenced on Tuesday, May 13, 2026, following guilty pleas to wilful fire‑raising and related offences committed in early April 2025. The incidents form part of a broader pattern of firebomb‑related violence that senior police have characterised as a “gangland war” in Scotland’s central belt.
What happened in the attacks?
BBC News reported via court details that the first firebombing occurred in the early hours of April 7, 2025, at a residential property in Milton, Glasgow.
Two further houses in the city were later targeted with incendiary devices, while the same group also attacked the Carpet Store outlet in Bishopbriggs on the evening of that day.
Prosecutor John Keenan KC told the High Court that the properties were linked to individuals associated with an organised crime syndicate known as the Daniel family, in a wider context of inter‑criminal‑group rivalry. The attacks were described as coordinated acts of wilful fire‑raising rather than spontaneous bursts of violence, with timings and locations suggesting planning.
All three men were placed in custody at Glasgow High Court in March 2026 after admitting their involvement, with sentencing reserved until May. During the hearing, the court heard that O’Hara and Stewart each pleaded guilty to four counts of wilful fire‑raising, covering the three Glasgow homes and the Bishopbriggs carpet outlet. McLaughlin admitted involvement only in the fire attack on the Carpet Store.
How were the men caught?
As reported by BBC News, the culprits were identified largely through closed‑circuit television and door‑entry‑camera footage obtained as part of Operation Portaledge, a police‑led probe into a surge of gangland violence across central Scotland.
One piece of Ring‑style doorbell video reportedly showed McLaughlin fleeing a scene after a firebomb landed on a roof, with his trainers briefly catching fire as he jumped down.
The BBC account noted that the imagery allowed investigators to trace the group’s movements across multiple sites and to match them to other intelligence gathered during the wider gang‑feud investigation. Police also obtained evidence tying the three men to the locations and times of the attacks, including vehicle‑tracking and witness statements.
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What were the sentences and dropped charges?
In the sentencing hearing, Lady Ruth Liddell told the court that O’Hara and Stewart would each serve seven‑and‑a‑half years in prison, while McLaughlin was ordered to serve three years.
The combined 18‑year term reflects the severity with which the judiciary views deliberate fire‑bomb attacks on occupied homes and businesses, especially in the context of organised‑crime feuds.
Previously, the men had also faced allegations of attempted murder in connection with the firebomb incidents, but those charges were removed from the indictment, and the court did not convict them on attempt‑to‑kill counts.
O’Hara and Stewart had also been accused of involvement in fire attacks on another residence in Bishopbriggs, where Annette Daniel was present, and a beauty salon in Bridgeton, Glasgow, linked to the same family.
However, the Crown accepted not‑guilty pleas in relation to those specific incidents, meaning the trio were not found culpable for those two alleged attacks.
Broader context of the gang feud
The Glasgow Times and BBC coverage situate these firebombings within a wider gang war involving the Daniel family and rival criminal factions. Reports indicate that the feud has led to a series of arson attacks, physical assaults, and threats across Glasgow and Edinburgh over several months, prompting a large‑scale police operation.
BBC News, in a related piece on ongoing inquiries, noted that Operation Portaledge has already resulted in dozens of arrests and multiple prosecutions, with the Daniel‑linked strand of the conflict generating a number of separate court cases.
Two other men, Andrew Quinn, 32, and James Quinn, 27, are separately charged with alleged attempted murder and conspiracy to kill members of the Daniel family and their associates, with a trial scheduled for April 2027.
Police Scotland have publicly warned that the use of firebombs and other violent tactics in gang disputes not only risks the lives of targeted individuals but also neighbours and members of the public, and that such offences carry some of the heaviest prison‑term outcomes in Scots law.
Background: The Daniel family and Scotland’s gang landscape
Scotland’s organised‑crime scene has long featured a small number of family‑based groups, with the Daniel clan frequently cited in court and media reporting as one of the most prominent in Glasgow.
Prosecutors and police have described the family as part of a network of interconnected criminal enterprises dealing in drugs, protection‑style activities, and vehicle‑related crime.
Historically, the Daniel group has been linked to violent confrontations with other established gangs, including the Lyons family, in a series of high‑profile court cases stretching back over more than a decade. Court records and media reports detail previous episodes of shootings, car chases, and arson attacks that have been tied to scores between such groups.
The recent wave of firebomb attacks, including those carried out by O’Hara, Stewart, and McLaughlin, underscores how the same rivalries can resurface using different tactics, with readily available incendiary devices and widespread surveillance networks altering the way evidence is gathered and disputes prosecuted.
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Prediction: How this development could affect local communities and the public
The 18‑year combined sentence handed down to O’Hara, Stewart, and McLaughlin may act as a deterrent within the immediate circle of those involved in the feud, given the length of the custodial terms for using firebombs against occupied homes and businesses.
For wider criminal networks, however, experts and police have previously warned that prison sentences alone do not always end feuds, and that rivalries may simply pause or re‑emerge under different leaders or nicknames.
For residents in neighbourhoods already designated as hotspots for gang activity, such as parts of Glasgow and Edinburgh, the case may heighten awareness of how quickly a dispute within a small criminal fraternity can spill into residential streets and commercial premises. Local authorities and police may respond with increased patrols, targeted CCTV expansion, and community‑engagement initiatives aimed at preventing the recruitment of younger individuals into such networks.
