DRUGS MURDER TRIGGERS TURF WAR

THE killing of a drug baron's relative has ignited a gangland battle
for control of Glasgow's UKP300 million drugs trade.

Marc Hayes, 20, whose uncle, John Healy, is serving ten years for his
part in a drugs smuggling operation, was found dead in a house in
Govan on Wednesday after a tip-off to detectives. His murder came a
week after the killing of Manus O'Donnell, whose body was found under
a tarpaulin and who was understood to be a member of a faction opposed
to Hayes' team.

It is understood that O'Donnell was murdered by two hit-men to ensure
that neither killer can inform on the other, the hallmark of a Glasgow
gangland killing.

While detectives were playing down a drugs connection, city gangsters
said that, with Healy in jail and the influence of the underworld
peacebroker, Paul Ferris, diminished, the battle had begun in earnest
to take control of the city's heroin business.

Before Ferris, 35, one of the city's most high-profile gangsters, was
jailed for ten years at the Old Bailey earlier this year on gun
smuggling charges, he had acted as a mediator between Glasgow's six
main players.

When he was jailed, the city's underworld held its breath. While it
was initially thought that Ferris could keep a lid on the violence, a
criminal source said last night: "The truce is over. Everyone has got
greedy again. The shooting has started in earnest."

Criminals believe that the tit-for-tat murders are also linked to a
drugs-related shooting in the city's East End two weeks ago when two
men were wounded in an attack on their car.

It was the first time in three years that the city has witnessed such
a spate of violence, but now that the truce appears to be over some
criminals say a rapid escalation can only be expected.

The murders of O'Donnell, whose body was found on the outskirts of
East Kilbride, and Hayes, as well as the double shooting in Cranhill,
are, according to criminals, the first of many until the "old
fashioned" battle for supremacy is won.

The source said: "So many of the old guard are now out of the picture
and for a time there was a vacuum, an uneasy truce.

"But young turks emerging from places like Possil and Haghill are
challenging the big men. They don't give a shit about Ferris and co
and how big they were. They are determined to increase their share of
the cake.

Unlikely alliances have been formed, such as a the link between South
Side and East End factions. The old territorial boundaries are being
blurred in the new set-up.

"The traditional drugs' heartland of the East End is still a powerful
part of the scene with two very big players, but they look
increasingly under pressure. The gap has opened up in the market and
there is no shortage of people trying to buy in."

In the latest killing police had to force entry to the terraced house
in Govan, where they found Hayes' body. Detectives investigating the
murder last night refused to say how he was killed though they
admitted they are looking for a weapon.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Kyle, of Govan CID, said: "This is an
ongoing inquiry. We need to hear from anybody who can help us trace
the killer of Marc Hayes.

"There is nothing to indicate yet that this incident is related to any
other ongoing inquiry, but we are keeping an open mind. It is
important that we find anybody who saw the dead man between Monday
morning and Wednesday morning, when we found him."

DCI Kyle said that Hayes did not live in the house where his body was
found.

He refused to comment on why he was there or whether police were
seeking the occupants of the house.

Checked-by: derek rea