Police probing deliberate fire and car crashing into house for gang war links

Police are investigating whether a deliberate car fire at a garage and a vehicle crashing into a house are linked to a gangland feud.

A vehicle was found set alight at Kelvinside Motor Company in Kirkintilloch at 10.55pm on Saturday, just days after a disturbance at the same location.

Police Scotland said no injuries were reported and officers are keeping an open mind over links to Operation Portaledge – a task force launched to tackle a gang war spanning the central belt.

The incident comes less than a week after officers were called to a disturbance at the same garage.

Detectives are also investigating whether a car crashing into a house in Eaglesham is linked to the feud.

Officers were called to Low Borlwand Way around 1.20pm on Friday following the incident. No injuries were reported.

Images from the scene show damage to the front of the home, with bricks near the entrance caved in and visible smoke damage.

The detached home, which sits on a quiet cul-de-sac, has been temporarily fenced off.

An incident at a home on Curzon Street, in the Wyndford area, hours earlier is also being examined for gang war links.

The force was called to the scene on Friday morning. A search was carried out, and no one was traced.

Detectives are keeping an “open mind” as to whether the incident is linked to Operation Portaledge.

The incidents have raised concerns of a potential flare-up in gang war activity, which Police Scotland claimed had come to an end in July.

Chief constable of Police Scotland, Jo Farrell, told the Scottish Police Authority that the “deeply concerning ‘war’ between rivals” came to an end after six months.

She stated that the tit-for-tat attacks, which began in March 2025, were over after the “resolution of differences” between the parties involved.

Operation Portaledge, which was launched to crack down on gang activity, responded to 84 separate incidents and resulted in 64 arrests.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 1.20pm on Friday, August 21, 2026, we received a report of a vehicle striking a property in Low Borland Way, Eaglesham.

“There are no reports of any injuries.

“Officers attended and enquiries are ongoing.”