Man jailed for gang war hit on businessman outside family home in Edinburgh

A gangster who repeatedly struck a businessman with a machete on his head and body amid gang war violence has been jailed.

Arran Reid, 27, has been jailed for eight years and four months after being caught as part of Police Scotland’s Operation Portaledge.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how the law enforcement initiative was activated in light of a “well-reported feud between organised crime groups” in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

On Tuesday, the court heard how Reid and two other masked men emerged from a grey Range Rover Discovery vehicle on Pitcairn Grove in Edinburgh on May 22.

They had parked the SUV outside David McMillan’s home, armed with machetes at 9.15pm before the man emerged from his own property also armed with a machete.

CCTV footage of the confrontation showed Reid and his accomplices dealing blows to their victim’s head and body with the weapons.

Speaking about the attack, prosecutor David Dickson KC told the court: “The complainer David McMillan had made arrangements for a security guard to be in a vehicle outside his home address.

“The security guard watched the vehicle drive past him, turn around within the cul-de-sac and drive back towards the entrance of the street, where it came to a stop [outside the property], which was occupied by the complainer and his family.

“The security guard sounded his horn, which alerted McMillan, who exited his home in possession of a machete or similar weapon.

“The complainer walked over his front garden onto the roadway and towards the stationary Land Rover

“As he did so, three individuals exited the Range Rover in possession of machetes. The accused was one of those individuals.

“Three of the individuals approached McMillan and struck him to the head and body with the machetes on the pavement outside the property.

“McMillan began shouting, ‘You’re going to kill me, you’re going to kill me’.

“However, in defending himself against he assailants using his machete to fend off numerous blows, he ended up on his knees on the ground.

“The security guard intervened to seek to protect the complainer and used a metal crowbar to deflect some of the blows from striking the complainer whilst shouting, ‘Leave him, leave him, that’s enough’.”

Reid, of Edinburgh, pled guilty to assaulting the man to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life.

He also admitted another charge of firing a revolver recklessly at a window of a house in Inch, Edinburgh, on June 12, 2025.

Police Scotland has arrested 62 people under their Operation Portaledge probe into the gang war in the west and east of Scotland.

Reid is the second person to be prosecuted under the probe.

Last month, Liam McDermid, 25, was given six years and nine months for using a metal detector to try to find a Glock pistol which had been hidden close to a primary school in Edinburgh.

On Tuesday, Mr Dickson told the court that Reid had previous convictions for violence. At the time of the attacks, he was on licence, having been released from another prison sentence at HMP Glenochil in February 2025.

The court heard how, following the attack on the businessman, “an offer” was made to drive the victim to the hospital.

Mr Dickson said: “He declined as he was fearful for his family’s safety. He indicated he wanted to stay with his family despite his injuries.

“A short time later, he was driven away from his home by his partner.”

The court heard that at 9.30pm whilst driving along nearby, police officers observed a car driving “erratically”. They stopped the vehicle and found the businessman inside.

The police then escorted the victim to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where medics treated cuts to his head and body and a fractured skull.

The court heard that the businessman declined to provide a statement to police about what happened.

In June 2025, the court heard that Reid then fired a revolver at the window of a house in the Inch area of Edinburgh.

Mr Dickson said the property had a “connection with organised crime” but was unoccupied and “awaiting allocation of a new tenant”.

Police managed to build enough of a case against Reid and brought him to justice for the crimes.

Defence advocate John Scullion KC told the court that his client was sorry for his actions and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.

Passing sentence, Lord Scott made reference to Reid’s decision to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity. The judge said this meant he was able to apply a discount, and that if Reid hadn’t pleaded guilty, he would have received a 12-and-a-half-year jail term.

He said that others involved in similar criminal attacks and seeking similar discounts would have to take the exact same steps as Reid had.