A machete attack on a convicted drug dealer near his home has raised fears over a renewed gang war in Edinburgh.
Edmond Reid was set upon in the Inch area of the capital on Saturday night and fortunately escaped with his life thanks to officers in the area intervening before his attacker fled in a stolen vehicle.
Reid, 36, has links to the Scottish cocaine kingpin Mark Richardson. It is understood that he avoided injury before police descended on the scene, reports the Daily Record.
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The last feud between the pair saw T2 Trainspotting star Bradley Welsh shot and killed outside his home in the New Town in 2019. Reid was jailed for three years in January 2015 for his role in a drug gang after police bugged a van to bust their trafficking network.
Sources said Reid was the victim of a "targeted gangland attack" by a man in a balaclava with a machete, but got lucky as police officers were nearby.
One insider said: "Four police officers witnessed it and intervened in the attack. If it wasn't for police this would've been a lot worse. The attacker got away in stolen car."
Richardson is linked to the Daniel crew while the other gangland boss is associated with the Lyons clan. The attacker pounced on Reid and tried to strike him with a weapon in Cumnor Crescent at around 8.35pm on Saturday.
The suspect is described as white, mid to late teens, around 5ft 6in tall, and of skinny build. He was wearing a tracksuit, with a black balaclava, black gloves, and possibly a black body warmer.
After the ambush, he was seen getting in a brown Mitsubishi Outlander. The car had been stolen in the city's Cramond area in the early hours of Saturday.
A brown Mitsubishi Outlander was discovered on fire in Foxglove Close, not far from Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, at around 12.10am on Monday.
Detective Inspector Kevin Tait, from Edinburgh CID, said: "Thankfully the man was not injured but it is vital we trace those responsible. This appears to have been a targeted attack and we do not believe there was any risk to the wider public.
"A brown Mitsubishi Outlander was discovered on fire in Foxglove Close, Edinburgh, and we believe it may be linked to the incident."
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