HE was the teenage sprinting sensation who was tipped for glory when he was called up to the Scottish Athletics team at the age of just 17.
But Ross McGill made just one appearance for his country before embarking on a much more dangerous – and lucrative – race towards criminal notoriety.
Ross ‘Miami’ McGill has come out of nowhere to become Britain’s most notorious new crime lord
The flash mobster posing in a white Rolls-Royce
A raging gangland war in Scotland has seen homes and buildings firebombed
UnpixsScotland’s underworld feud made headlines earlier this year after gangster Ross Monaghan and Eddie Lyons Jnr were gunned down by a hitman in the Costa del Sol[/caption]
And it is one that is causing bloodshed and destruction direct from Dubai to the streets of Glasgow.
Ross ‘Miami’ McGill has seemingly come out of nowhere to become Britain’s most notorious new crime lord and is said to be the man pulling the strings in the deadly Scottish gangland feud, sparked by multi-million pound drug empires and feuding families.
McGill and his girlfriend, dental nurse Olivia Newall, are believed to have left the UK to Spain in 2022.
The couple then moved on to Dubai, from where he has had a meteoric rise up the ranks to become a major player within the drug cartels based in the UAE.
And McGill is the man understood to be orchestrating a series of firebombing, machete assaults and murder bids across Scotland from the safety of his luxury home in Dubai.
So how did this promising clean-cut teenage athlete from East Kilbride become one of the most powerful crime lords in the European drug trade?
It appears McGill always had his eye on a bigger prize, even when he was training on the running tracks of his hometown.
In 2008 the keen 14-year-old Rangers fan joined the Union Bears, an emerging Rangers fans ultra group.
By 2021 he was its leader or Capo, with access-all-areas at Ibrox and photo ops with then Rangers boss Steven Gerrard and captain James Tavernier – neither of who had any knowledge of his criminal links.
A source tells The Sun that he may have made his first connections to the criminal underworld thanks to his role at Ibrox, even if his tenure did not last long.
They explain: “Ross McGill’s rise through the criminal ranks is staggering because until this gang war kicked off in March he wasn’t on the public’s radar at all.
“He was well-known in football ultras circles as a prominent figure in the Union Bears who seemed to revel in the limelight.
“Many Rangers fans were surprised and disappointed when he walked away from his role as a so-called capo.
“But they would have no idea he was already involved with some of the most serious gangsters in Scotland.”
Climbing the ranks
Prior to fleeing his homeland, McGill ran a series of businesses, including a dry cleaning company with drug-dealing ex-Mr Scotland John Barry McDuff.
Muscle-bound McDuff was jailed for seven years in 2024 after pleading guilty to being involved in serious organised crime.
He had used an encrypted platform to discuss the supply of cocaine, heroin and steroids.
SpindriftMcGill’s early criminal career saw him work with drug-dealing ex-Mr Scotland John Barry McDuff[/caption]
The pair ran a series of businesses, including a dry cleaning company
McGill was a former leader of a Rangers ultra gang, which saw him enjoy picture ops with players and then-manager Steven Gerrard
McGill pictured next to Rangers captain James Tavernier
McDuff was one of a series of Scottish criminals brought down after cops cracked the sophisticated Encrochat system used by gangs to organise their illegal networks.
It was this police breakthrough that first saw allegations made regarding McGill’s involvement in serious organised crime and caused him to leave the UK.
But it also enabled him to climb the big-time criminal ranks – as those above him were locked up.
It is believed McGill was introduced to the highest levels of criminal networks by supergang chief James ‘The Don’ White, who was jailed in 2023.
McGill’s rise through the criminal ranks is staggering because until this gang war kicked off in March he wasn’t on the public’s radar at all
Sun source
McGill’s partner Olivia Newall is also the cousin of kingpin Lloyd Cross, who grew up near to McGill, who was jailed last year for his part in a £100million cocaine smuggling plot.
It was masterminded by Jamie “the Iceman” Stevenson, once dubbed “Scotland’s most wanted man.”
Stevenson is serving 16 years for importing cocaine in bananas from Ecuador and running a Breaking Bad-style street valium factory.
Our source said: “Some will tell you McGill is a lone wolf who has risen to the top through his own ingenuity.
McGill has rubbed shoulders with underworld figures including Stephen Jamieson and Jamie Stevenson, both pictured
Dubbed the ‘Iceman’, Stevenson is behind bars for criminal enterprises that include running a Breaking Bad-style street valium factory
He is serving 16 years after being caught importing cocaine in bananas
“But there’s no doubt his connections to the likes of James White and Lloyd Cross have helped rocket fuel his rise to the top.
“McGill has become the face of the ongoing chaos in Scotland and there’s no sign of it ending any time soon.”
Raking in millions
It is believed that McGill and fellow Scottish drug kingpin Steven Larwood are now raking in up to £3million a month from their luxury Dubai boltholes, overseeing shipment routes set up by Stevenson and missing kingpin brothers James and Barry Gillespie.
But the latest bloody feud is said to have been sparked after McGill was allegedly swindled out of £500,000 by associates of Edinburgh cocaine baron Mark Richardson, who paid for drugs with counterfeit cash.
The rival gang apparently underestimated McGill as small-fry and are now paying a high and bloody price.
It is claimed McGill put £100,000 bounties on the heads of the men he thinks are responsible.
Flashy McGill enjoys a life of luxury living as a fugitive in Dubai
Fire damage to a property in the aftermath of an alleged firebombing attack in Scotland
While he has been spotted driving around Dubai in a white Rolls Royce, his self-styled group Tamo Junto has claimed responsibility for a wave of firebombings across Scotland since April, targeting associates of caged crime kingpin Richardson, 38, and the Glasgow-based Daniel mob.
Cops have so far made more than 50 arrests in connection with the feud, with McGill now being dubbed “Scotland’s most wanted gangster”.
McGill is seen by an increasing number of people as being more trouble than he’s worth
Sun source
Earlier this year there were claims of truce talks in Dubai, where Daniel clan associates have made efforts to persuade McGill to call off the mayhem – only to be rebuffed.
But underworld sources last claimed that McGill fled from a nightclub in the desert city after spotting heavies linked to rival mobster Steven ‘Bonzo’ Daniel, nearby.
In June this year the feud seemed to have arrived back at the door of girlfriend Olivia’s family when her dad George had his black taxi firebombed outside the family home, leaving it extensively damaged.
There is nothing to suggest that Olivia or her parents are in any way involved in any illegal activities or are under suspicion from the police.
Mobster gym bust-up
McGill is also believed to have been involved in a bust-up in Dubai with Stephen ‘Jimmy’ Jamieson about the gang war raging on the streets of Scotland.
Jamieson is said to have chased McGill around a gym after confronting him.
Stephen Jamieson, pictured in Dubai, confronted McGill in a gym bust-up
McGill was a talented youth sprinter who ran for Scotland
A source said: “They ended up coming face-to-face in a gym and Jamieson went for him.
“He was chasing him about the place and trying to batter him.
“Others had to intervene.
“McGill is seen by an increasing number of people as being more trouble than he’s worth.”
Jamieson, 42, was arrested in Dubai in June after five years on the run and is due to be extradited to Scotland over a raft of allegations linked to serious organised crime.
Police Scotland appear to be sending a clear message to criminals operating abroad.
In June the force’s chief Jo Farrell warned the Dubai-based crooks involved in the feud blazing on her turf: “We are coming for you.”
But, for now, Ross ‘Miami’ McGill is still a free and dangerous man.
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